Leo Rosten's Carnival of Wit: From Aristotle to Woody Allen

by Leo Rosten

Gathers aphorisms about a variety of subjects from acting and advice to wordplay and youth

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction

560 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Leo Calvin Rosten was born in Lodz, Russian Empire (now Poland) and died in New York City. He was a teacher and academic, but is best known as a humorist in the fields of scriptwriting, storywriting, journalism and Yiddish lexicography.

Reviews

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before this book, Id never heard of Leo Rosten -- what a loss! The title page informs the reader: Compiled and Manicured by Leo Rosten.

Mr. Rosten takes the time to explain different forms of humor and gives examples. Here's a sampling.

WIT: When a man brings his wife a gift for no reason, there's a reason. Molly McGee

WISECRACK: I'm a very good housekeeper; when I leave a man, I keep his house. Zsa Zsa Gabor

ASTUTE MOCKERY: We sent missionaries to China so the Chinese could get to heaven, but we wouldn't let them into our country. Pearl S Buck

SPARKLING DESCRIPTIONS: To my embarrassment, I was born in bed with a lady. Wilson Mizner

PUNS: Every crowd has a silver lining. PT Barnum

MALAPROPISMS: What do you mean, the story is too caustic? Who cares about expense? -- Attributed to Samuel Goldwyn

SATIRICAL DEFINITIONS: Murderer: One presumed to be innocent until declared insane. Oscar Wilde

TYPOS: Mr. Baker sent this telegram to his wife: HAVING WONDERFUL TIME. WISH YOU WERE HER. Unattributed

SIMPLE TRANSPOSITIONS: He had the kind of face which, once seen, was never remembered. Oscar Wilde

Then Mr. Rosten offers a variety of wit under 100s of headings (i.e.: Chastity, Freudian Slips, Guilt, Obituary, Sadism, Spoonerisms, and Worry).

(From) G K CHESTERTON: Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. OR The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.

I'd forgotten what wits Oscar Wilde and G K Chesterton were until I read this book. Rosten offers quotes from everywhere -- from the Talmud to H L Menken. Enjoy!

[Frank Krajcovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any such collection, some of the material is better than others...but some is quite good.

[Seamus Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the sort of book you read from cover to cover, though I did read the first 70 pages or so (including Rosten's excellent opening meditation on wit) before I settled for flipping through the pages. This is a delightful book that anyone who likes to collect witty remarks will enjoy. The quotations in this book are organized by theme, which would probably make this is a handy resource for people preparing speeches or writing essays.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book that one of the faculty members at my job gave out as a present. He gave it to advisees of his when they finished their PhDs. He was a witty, sharp, poignant man himself. It is good just to glance at or to sit down and burn through. Full of quotable material as well as a primer as to acquire wit yourself.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leo Rosten’s Carnival of Wit and Wisdom by Leo Rosten (Plume 1994) (808.882). This is a collection of jokes and one-liners compiled and collected by the guy who wrote the Hyman Kaplan books. Unfortunately, this collection doesn’t capture the sweet humor of Hyman Kaplan. My rating: 6/10, finished 2002.

[Albie]

Leo Rosten's Carnival of Wit: And Wisdom; Plus Wisecracks, Ad-Libs, Malaprops, Puns, One-Liners, Quips, Epigrams, Boo-Boos, Dazzling Ironies, and Wi by Leo Rosten (1994)

[Jessica]

Not all quotes are witty but almost all are interesting

[Mike Savage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just fun stuff all through.