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The Essential Wit of the World's Funniest People
Conscience is the inner voice that warns us that someone might be looking.
--H. L. Mencken
We've all heard the saying, "Everyone's a comedian." That may be true, but we also know that not everyone is funny, and even fewer are witty. But what's the difference between wit and humor? Brevity helps, but more importantly, a witty saying isn't just funny, it's about something. As Daniel Bukszpan puts it in his introduction to The Essential Wit of the World's Funniest People, what witty sayings have in common is their ability to relate "something truthful about mankind's folly in a matter of just a few words." That truth-telling is the common factor that unites this collection of jokes, asides, aphorisms, and observations.
--H. L. Mencken
We've all heard the saying, "Everyone's a comedian." That may be true, but we also know that not everyone is funny, and even fewer are witty. But what's the difference between wit and humor? Brevity helps, but more importantly, a witty saying isn't just funny, it's about something. As Daniel Bukszpan puts it in his introduction to The Essential Wit of the World's Funniest People, what witty sayings have in common is their ability to relate "something truthful about mankind's folly in a matter of just a few words." That truth-telling is the common factor that unites this collection of jokes, asides, aphorisms, and observations.
- GenresHumor
134 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2017
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19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 28, 2018
This book introduced me to some of my new favorite quotes!
"If loving someone is putting them in a straitjacket and kicking them down a flight of stairs, then yes, I have loved a few people"
"I like children. If they're properly cooked."
"Hundreds of wise men cannot make the world a heaven, but one idiot is enough to turn it into a hell."
"If loving someone is putting them in a straitjacket and kicking them down a flight of stairs, then yes, I have loved a few people"
"I like children. If they're properly cooked."
"Hundreds of wise men cannot make the world a heaven, but one idiot is enough to turn it into a hell."
November 28, 2017
My school was so tough, the school newspaper had an obituary section.
Norm Crosby
Never tease an old dog; he might have one bite left.
Robert Heinlein
The one who loves least controls the relationship.
Robert Newton Anthony
Sex at age 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope.
George Burns
Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
Maryon Pearson
A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty.
Rudyard Kipling
Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.
Isaac Asimov
Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it.
George Bernard Shaw
A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a 1000 men with guns.
Mario Puzo
Norm Crosby
Never tease an old dog; he might have one bite left.
Robert Heinlein
The one who loves least controls the relationship.
Robert Newton Anthony
Sex at age 90 is like trying to shoot pool with a rope.
George Burns
Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.
Maryon Pearson
A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty.
Rudyard Kipling
Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.
Isaac Asimov
Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it.
George Bernard Shaw
A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a 1000 men with guns.
Mario Puzo
December 19, 2018
"Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it."--George Bernard Shaw
"If everyone who had a gun just shot themselves, there wouldn't be a problem"--George Harrison
"Middle age is having a choice between two temptations and choosing the one that'll get you home earlier."--Dan Bennett
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike."--Delos B. McKown
OK, you get the idea: the quotations are funny and, at their best, which is often, also thought provoking.
"If everyone who had a gun just shot themselves, there wouldn't be a problem"--George Harrison
"Middle age is having a choice between two temptations and choosing the one that'll get you home earlier."--Dan Bennett
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike."--Delos B. McKown
OK, you get the idea: the quotations are funny and, at their best, which is often, also thought provoking.
January 20, 2018
Not bad. Got bored and just started reading this and it made me reflect quite a bit on a lot of topics like entertainment, politics, and human nature in general.
February 27, 2023
Good for a chuckle.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews