Comedian has a pause (4)
I believe the answer is:
wait
'pause' is the definition.
(I know that delay is a is a kind of of pause)
'comedian has a' is the wordplay.
'comedian' becomes 'wit' (a witty person).
'has' indicates putting letters inside.
'wit' placed around 'a' is 'WAIT'.
(Other definitions for wait that I've seen before include "Period of delay" , "Delay action" , "Serve at table" , "Linger behind" , "Bide one's time" .)