boutade means A sudden outbreak or outburst; a caprice, a whim. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “boutade” is a great word
BOUTADE — [Noun] A sudden, witty, or capricious outburst or remark. From French boutade, from bouter (“to thrust, to butt”). Unlike a whim, a general, fleeting impulse, or a sally, a tactical foray in debate, a boutade is the sharp verbal expulsion of that impulse—a thought butted into conversation before it is fully considered. It is the champagne cork popping across a stifled drawing room, the perfectly timed barb that pierces a ponderous debate, or the fragment of private absurdity spoken aloud just to see if the air can hold its shape—a brief, brilliant combustion of intellect against the damp fog of convention.
Etymology
Borrowed from French boutade, from bouter (“to thrust”). See butt.
noun
- A sudden outbreak or outburst; a caprice, a whim.“[H]e suddenly broke out, "Well, then, as I understand you, what you recommend me is to marry Miss Bernardstone, and carry on an intrigue with Lady Vandeleur!" He knew perfectly that I recommended nothing of the sort, and he must have been very angry to indulge in this boutade.”