What do you think?
Rate this book
"Private Eye's" Bumper Book of Boobs
Collection of newspaper bloopers from British newspapers. Includes the best from the Private Eye's prior collections of boobs but most of the material is new.
- GenresHumor
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Richard Ingrams
159 booksIngrams served his National Service as a Private in the Royal Army Service Corps, but failed to gain a commission and joined the satirical publication Private Eye in 1962. In the same year Ingrams married Mary Morgan.
The following year Richard Ingrams became editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye - a post he retained until 1986.
He is now editor of The Oldie magazine.
The following year Richard Ingrams became editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye - a post he retained until 1986.
He is now editor of The Oldie magazine.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 1, 2025
Private Eye is a satire and current events magazine that’s been published in Great Britain since 1961. While their investigative reporting is perhaps more important a contribution to society, they also do a lot of jokes and other humor. One recurring feature has been printing headlines and article clippings from newspapers that have humorous mistakes or connotations.
Thus this 1973 collection (though my copy is the 1982 edition, don’t know when it was last reprinted.) It contains over 190 pages of typos, mismatched photos, awkward wording and people with the same name as celebrities doing things those celebrities hopefully wouldn’t do.
It also contains cartoons by Larry, Ralph Steadman and Bill Tidy illustrating the mental picture some of these pieces suggest.
As you might expect, quite a bit of the humor here is of the “rude chuckle” variety, seeing mildly naughty words or phrases in respectable newspapers. Other ones are a bit more clever. And a few rely on knowledge of particular famous people or in-jokes. A particular target is a newspaper formally named The Guardian, but always referred to by Private Eye as “the Grauniad” due to its hapless proofreading.
Some samples: “FIRE KILLS NINE CALVES IN TORO An 80-year-old man of Kyaka county, Toro died of stab wounds only a few hours after an elephant had trumpled his son to death. Foul play is not suspected.”
“NURSE RAPED By Our Crime Staff”
“How England must wish that Statham were just a little younger! Even at 3, however, his consistent accuracy is without equal, and he sets a magnificent example to the younger men under his command.”
Some references will be opaque to younger or non-British readers, but the majority of pieces are still amusing. There were several volumes of these put out, so you might still be able to find some relatively cheaply even in America. Recommended to the kind of reader who got a chuckle from the title.
Thus this 1973 collection (though my copy is the 1982 edition, don’t know when it was last reprinted.) It contains over 190 pages of typos, mismatched photos, awkward wording and people with the same name as celebrities doing things those celebrities hopefully wouldn’t do.
It also contains cartoons by Larry, Ralph Steadman and Bill Tidy illustrating the mental picture some of these pieces suggest.
As you might expect, quite a bit of the humor here is of the “rude chuckle” variety, seeing mildly naughty words or phrases in respectable newspapers. Other ones are a bit more clever. And a few rely on knowledge of particular famous people or in-jokes. A particular target is a newspaper formally named The Guardian, but always referred to by Private Eye as “the Grauniad” due to its hapless proofreading.
Some samples: “FIRE KILLS NINE CALVES IN TORO An 80-year-old man of Kyaka county, Toro died of stab wounds only a few hours after an elephant had trumpled his son to death. Foul play is not suspected.”
“NURSE RAPED By Our Crime Staff”
“How England must wish that Statham were just a little younger! Even at 3, however, his consistent accuracy is without equal, and he sets a magnificent example to the younger men under his command.”
Some references will be opaque to younger or non-British readers, but the majority of pieces are still amusing. There were several volumes of these put out, so you might still be able to find some relatively cheaply even in America. Recommended to the kind of reader who got a chuckle from the title.
March 10, 2016
I read this book every few years or so, when I've forgotten most of the content. 'Bodies in the garden a plant says wife', and so on. Makes me laugh every time. Of course, the content is out-dated, taken from clippings found by readers of Private Eye from 1962-73, hence: 'THE COMMON MARKET - SWISS ROLE FOR BRITAIN?' and much other typo-hilarity of the 'shorthand typist sexperinced' variety. But it is still very funny. Laughter is the best medicine and I feel fine.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews