when insults had class
bkmarcus
Forwarded to me by my mother:
These glorious insults are from an era when cleverness with words was still
valued, before a great portion of the English language got boiled down to
4-letter words.The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my
husband I'd give you poison," and he said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows
or of some unspeakable disease." "That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether
I embrace your policies or your mistress.""He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston
Churchill"A modest little person, with much to be modest about." - Winston Churchill
"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great
pleasure." Clarence Darrow"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the
dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)."Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" -
Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading
it." - Moses Hadas"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." -
Abraham Lincoln"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of
it." - Mark Twain"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde
"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a
friend.... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston
Churchill, "Cannot
possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston
Churchill, in response."I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." -
Stephen Bishop"He is a self-made man and worships his creator." - John Bright
"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial." -
Irvin S. Cobb"He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others." -
Samuel Johnson"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up." - Paul Keating
"There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." Jack E.
Leonard"He has the attention span of a lightning bolt." - Robert Redford
"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human
knowledge." - Thomas Brackett Reed"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily." -
Charles, Count Talleyrand"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."- Forrest Tucker
"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" -
Mark Twain"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West
"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." - Oscar
Wilde"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather
than illumination." - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)"He has Van Gogh's ear for music." - Billy Wilder "
I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx
Posted in language |






May 26th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Dr. Johnson had another couple of my favorites:
"Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good."
"Sir, I have found you an explanation, but I am not obliged to find you an understanding."
May 26th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Are any of these apocryphal? Were they said on the spot, or did the clever wit to whom each is attributed have significant time to come up with a real "zinger"?
I find that wit of this caliber rarely comes when most needed. Hence the feeling of coming up with a wicked and perfect retort hours or even days later... when it's perfectly useless.
"Repartee is what you wish you'd said." - Heywood Broun
May 27th, 2008 at 12:33 am
One of my favorites; Mark Twain on Cecil Rhodes:
"I admire him, I frankly confess it; and when his time comes I shall buy a piece of the rope for a keepsake." - Following the Equator
http://www.twainquotes.com/Rhodes.html
May 27th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
"Up your nose with a rubber hose"Fonzee
May 28th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
One of my favorites:
"I'm seated in the smallest room in the house. Your letter is before me. Soon it will be behind me." -- Voltaire
I'll throw in a great bumper sticker, no extra charge:
"If you don't like my driving, get off the sidewalk."