Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (Oxford Paperback Reference) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0192806572 ISBN 13: 9780192806574

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2007

Synopsis

In The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, noted writer and satirist Ned Sherrin has gathered nearly 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 comment: "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 has left no turn unstoned to collect the sharpest, the wittiest, the wryest in quips, put-downs, and one-liners. The quotations range 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 Iraq: "We might as well give them ours. We arent using it." The book 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.

About this title

Review

Some may search quotation compilations for wisdom or inspiration, but most crack these reference tomes looking for a laugh. Ned Sherrin has therefore done the world a favor by culling the witticisms and snide remarks from the vast quotation libraries, creating a volume completely dedicated to the funny remark. It's superbly browsable, but as the nearly 5,000 quotations are grouped by more than 100 themes, it's also a reference with practical applications. For a quip on consumerism, George Orwell comes through with, "Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket." Dean Martin opines about liquor: "You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on." Ronald Knox defines a baby as "a loud noise on one end and no sense of responsibility on the other," and for politics, Art Buchwald says of Richard Nixon, "I worship the quicksand he walks in." It's an irresistible dictionary. --Stephanie Gold

About the Author

Ned Sherrin is presenter of BBC Radio 4s Loose Ends. The producer and director of the legendary 1960s TV show That Was The Week That Was, he has written for the stage and screen, has directed many theater productions, and has compiled a number of anthologies, including Ned Sherrin in His Anecdotage and I Wish I'd Said That. He lives in the UK.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0192806572
• ISBN 13: 9780192806574
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 560
• Editor: Sherrin Ned