Archaic One who indulges in idle, foolish, and irreverent fancies or speculations; one who tries to be cleverly amusing but falls short.
All epicures, witwantons, atheists.1613, Josuah Sylvester, Lachrymae Lachrymarum:
And how dangerous it is for wit-wanton men to dance with their nice distinctions, on such mystical precipices, where slips in jest may cause deadly downfalls in earnest, …1655, Thomas Fuller, “4, A.D. 1611--1619”, in The Church History of Britain from the Birth of Jesus Christ until the Year MDCXLVIII, Book 10:
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Word-warriors and wit-wantons would waste their breath upon one whose book-hunger has won him so rich a meed, ...1855, Thomas Carlyle, Fraser's magazine, Volume 52, Digitized edition, published 2005, page 345:
The witwanton is always a little off in trying to be always GETTING MENTAL.1986, David Grambs, Dimboxes, epopts, and other quidams:
WITWANTON: One who tries to be cleverly amusing, but misses the mark.2003, Robert M. Jarvis, Amicus Humoriae: An Anthology of Legal Humor, Carolina Academic Press, →ISBN, page 97:
witwanton
verb
Etymology From wit + wanton.
1
Archaic To indulge in vain, sportive, or irreverent wit; speculate idly or irreverently.
… a citizen in Cheapside was executed as a traitor for saying he would make his son heir to the crown, though he only meant his own house, having a crown for the sign, more dangerous it is to wit-wanton it with the Majesty of God.1834, William Chambers, Robert Chambers, Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, Digitized edition, W. Orr, published 2007, page 32:
Wit-wanton it with lewd barbarity, …1839, Rober Southey, The poetical works of Robert Southey, Digitized edition, D. Appleton, published 2008, page 88:
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And Master Lynch bade him have a care to flout and witwanton as the god self was angered for his hellprate and paganry.1922, James Joyce, Ulysses, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2008:
Nor I will not suffer mine indignation so to witwanton with fair justice as persuade me to put the wite on Witchland.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, chapter 209, in The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC: