An epigram is a very short piece of writing — often one or two lines — that says something sharp, clever, or funny. It feels like a small dart: quick, pointed, and easy to remember. Writers use epigrams as jokes, as gentle insults, or as a neat way to hold a big idea. In older times an epigram was also a short poem, sometimes carved as words on a stone or a gift; that older “written-on-something” sense is where the word began. Today you will hear it in literature class more than in the street; friends are more likely to say “a witty line” or “a one-liner.” Though actually, a proverb (“look before you leap”) is not quite an epigram. A proverb is common wisdom, worn smooth by many mouths. An epigram usually has a writer’s twist or sting — a surprise at the end.

警句、雋語（古義是刻在器物上的短句）