How can a character be made to appear witty, or funny? That is, the character amuses other characters, not the reader, who should ideally be impressed with the characters wit. The only way that I can think of is to have the character be able to make some good jokes, but that relies on the author being funny. What if I'm not funny, or just can't think of any good jokes at the time?
inspired by How does one write a character smarter than oneself?
Answer
In addition to the points made in SF.'s answer, one can also express the act indirectly or express the effects of the wit without showing the wit itself.
Here are some examples:
Joe whispered something to Susan and her face contorted in an attempt to suppress her laughter.
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"Then the waiter brought three glasses of water," Helen continued.
Joe interrupted quickly with a pun, and we all groaned in appreciation. "Sorry, I couldn't resist. What happened after he brought the water?"
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"You really need to get Joe to tell you the joke about the plumber and the paralegal."
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"Joe, this is a serious meeting, so try to keep your clever remarks to yourself."
(This might present Joe in an inappropriately negative light, but if said by someone who dislikes Joe or is excessively uptight about formal procedures the negativity would be reduced, possibly inverted.)
I entered the room looking for Joe and saw him surrounded by several enthralled listeners.
"'That was my plunger!'" Joe concluded, and everyone cracked up laughing.
(Anyone who can make that punchline funny is probably fairly gifted.)
Obviously, there is a limit to how much one can express the humor indirectly. The effectiveness of the actual jokes could be improved by indications that those jokes are actually the weakest jokes the character tells ("I'm disappointed, Joe. I almost managed to keep myself from laughing on that one.") or by having another character tell the joke and explain that the witty character shared it and that the witty character told it much better.
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