Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations

by Ned Sherrin (editor)

In The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, Fourth Edition , the late writer and satirist Ned Sherrin has gathered more than 5,000 quotations in a rollicking collection drawn from an international cast of humorists and pundits, ranging from Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Oscar Wilde to
Groucho Marx, Monty Python, and Lenny Bruce.
Arranging these quotes under more than 200 headings, from Actors and Acting (including Dorothy Parker's famous barb on Katherine Hepburn's Broadway debut, "She ran the whole gamut of the emotions from A to B") to Youth (such as Fran Lebowitz wry "Remember that as a teenager you are
at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you"), Sherrin collected the sharpest, the wittiest, the wryest in quips, put-downs, and one-liners. Now packed with even more quotes and covering more subjects than ever before, from Weddings to the Supernatural,
Australia to Headlines, the book ranges from President Bush's "They misunderestimated me"; to James Agee's caustic review "Several tons of dynamite are set off in this picture, none of it under the right people"; to Jay Leno's comment when asked if the U.S. should draft a Constitution for "We
might as well give them ours. We aren't using it." The Dictionary also includes an index of authors, so you can track your favorite humorist throughout the book, and an index of keywords.
With quotations courtesy of comedians and playwrights, novelists and producers, cartoonists and moguls, soldiers and lawyers, and displaying all shades of humor, from dry to sly, subtle to wacky, and even unintended, The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations will be the perfect resource
for public speakers, writers, and anyone else who enjoys a sparkling line, a clever pun, or a wickedly clever riposte.

Genres: Reference, Humor, Nonfiction, Language, Writing, Literature

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Ned Sherrin was an English broadcaster, author and stage director.

Reviews

[Nitrorockets · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good resource and one that I'd like to have in my permanent collection. Not something for leisure reading but incredibly useful.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of gems in here. There are also not a few misfires, given that they're all selected by one man with a rather stereotypically British sense of humor. Sherrin includes too many quotations that aren't funny out of context (I can vouch that many of them are funny in context). But despite the many suggestions I have for improvements, I keep reading it (this is my third or fourth time), and I still like it.

[This review applies to the original 1995 edition.:]

[Minnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The true joy of a book of quotations is that you get to read the best bits of generally the best books. Not only is this book filled with hilarious best bits, it also has sharp and witty comments for any occasion... if you can just recall them!

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my style. The quotations needed more "filler" before and/or after to anchor the bon mots. They must have been funny at the time, but I always got the feeling after each one that "you really had to be there."

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good.

[Stephen Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being a boy at heart, I need my book fixes in small bites, and this book has kept me sane on many a dark day.

[Burton Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bible (very thick) of joy.

[Steve Clark]

Edition: New edition