Comeback vs Retort - What's the difference?
comeback | retort |
A return (e.g. to popularity, success, etc.) after an extended period of obscurity.
* {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=February 5
, author=Paul Fletcher
, title=Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal
, work=BBC
* {{quote-news
, year=2013
, date=December 6
, author= alim17
, title=Girls' Generation rumored to make a comeback in early 2014!
, work=allkpop.com
A retort or answer, particularly a quick or clever one.
A sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.
To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.
*{{quote-book, year=1905, author=
, title=
, chapter=1 To make a remark which reverses an argument upon its originator; to return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility.
* Milton
To bend or curve back.
* Southey
To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect.
* Shakespeare
(chemistry) A flask with a rounded base and a long neck that is bent down and tapered, used to heat a liquid for distillation.
:* 1893', A large curved ' retort was boiling furiously in the bluish flame of a Bunsen burner, and the distilled drops were condensing into a two-litre measure. — Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Naval Treaty’ (Norton 2005, p.670)
A container in which material is subjected to high temperatures]] as part of an industrial manufacturing process, especially during the smelting and [[forge, forging of metal.
Retort is a synonym of comeback.
As nouns the difference between comeback and retort
is that comeback is a return (e.g. to popularity, success, etc.) after an extended period of obscurity while retort is a sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.As a verb retort is
to say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.comeback
English
Noun
(en noun)- That fad went out with the eighties, but I think it's making a comeback .
citation, page= , passage=Newcastle produced a stunning comeback from 4-0 down to earn a draw that shocked title hopefuls Arsenal.}}
citation, page= , passage= According to rumors in the entertainment world on December 6, Girls' Generation will be making a comeback' next year with a masculine concept. They have supposedly decided on the title song in their new album and have begun filming the music video on December 6. It appears they have started preparing for a full-scale '''comeback'''! It will be the girls' first Korean ' comeback in a year since "I Got a Boy." }}
- I wish I had thought of a quick comeback for his comment.
Usage notes
In sense “reply”, more casual than (m) or the somewhat formal (m).Synonyms
* (reply) rejoinder, retortretort
English
(wikipedia retort)Etymology 1
From (etyl) retortus, from .Noun
(en noun)Verb
(en verb)citation, passage=“It is a pity,” he retorted with aggravating meekness, “that they do not use a little common sense. The case resembles that of Columbus' ?egg, and is every bit as simple. […]”}}
- to retort the charge of vanity
- And with retorted scorn his back he turned.
- a retorted line
- With retorted head, pruned themselves as they floated.
- As when his virtues, shining upon others, / Heat them and they retort that heat again / To the first giver.