This is just a forward I think is worthy of sharing.
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!
“He had delusions of adequacy.” – Walter Kerr
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 has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” – Winston Churchill
“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
“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
“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
Thanks for the list. I’ve enjoyed the play on words a lot and smiled from start to finish. 😀
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Jace: Same here, I smiled a lot when I read these too ,l think these insults are much more powerful than the ones that are used today. I guess they are more sarcastic in nature.
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Haha! These made me laugh…
And yes, interesting isn’t it how intelligent these comments are. I’d wouldn’t like to read their modern-day equvilents!
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I LOVE those 😀 Thanks so much for sharing.
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Huwey: Same here. I would hate to read their modern-day equivalents.
Nymeth: The pleasure is all mine 🙂
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Those are great. A pity we fail to put so much thought and effort into our insults these days. I mean, if people are going to insult each other, the very least they could do is be clever about it! Thanks for sharing – definitely gave me a laugh. 🙂
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Oh, I enjoyed reading this! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Nice one!!
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brill!
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