The Lost Age of Literacy


 The following insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words:

1. "He had delusions of adequacy ” Walter Kerr
2. "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.”- Winston Churchill
3. "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure. - Clarence Darrow
4. "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.”-William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
5. "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"- Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
6. "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it.” - Moses Hadas
7. "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” - Mark Twain
8. "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.” - Oscar Wilde
9. "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
10. "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one.” - Winston Churchill, in response
11. "I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here” - Stephen Bishop
12. "He is a self-made man and worships his creator.” - John Bright
13. "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial.” - Irvin S. Cobb
14. "He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.” - Samuel Johnson
15. "He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up. - Paul Keating
16. "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.” - Forrest Tucker
17. "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?” - Mark Twain
18. "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.” - Mae West
19. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” - Oscar Wilde
20. "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather than illumination.” - Andrew Lang (1844-1912)
21. "He has Van Gogh's ear for music.” - Billy Wilder
22. "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But I'm afraid this wasn't it.” - Groucho Marx
23. The exchange between Winston Churchill & Lady Astor: She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison." He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."
24. "He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln
25. "There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure." -- Jack E. Leonard
26. "They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." -- Thomas Brackett Reed
27. "He inherited some good instincts from his Quaker forebears, but by diligent hard work, he overcame them." -- James Reston (about Richard Nixon) —Robert L Truesdell

Comments

  1. lungtaApril 22, 2022 at 11:00 AM

    "Well I would happily agree with you but then we both would be wrong"
    and
    "They are like family . We tried adoption but no one would take them."

    ReplyDelete
  2. lungtaApril 22, 2022 at 11:09 AM

    I use "They are educated far beyond their intelligence " often
    or "They are elevated far beyond their ability" often also
    and in current times
    It is a pretty easy call.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The Disaffected LibApril 22, 2022 at 11:53 AM

    Gems, Lungta. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LorneApril 22, 2022 at 1:19 PM

    I always like the line from Macbeth: "Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibApril 23, 2022 at 1:12 PM

      Yes, a classic. Perhaps an inspiration to those who followed.

      Delete
  5. TrailblazerApril 22, 2022 at 4:43 PM

    Humorous quotes indeed but real change requires real actions not just quick retorts to the flavour of the day.
    Our lives are full enough of off the cuff remarks and mini essays of Facebook and Twitter.
    It's time to read the whole frigging book not just the title!

    TB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibApril 23, 2022 at 1:13 PM

      I hadn't intended this post as a call to action, TB. A moment of levity can be refreshing in a world of malevolence and idiocy.

      Delete
  6. MNewshamApril 22, 2022 at 11:50 PM

    An editor in Vancouver (forget who) to an aspiring writer- "You're a true poet of the streets, and I intend to keep you that way."

    ReplyDelete
  7. MNewshamApril 22, 2022 at 11:59 PM

    Margaret Atwood about one of Mordecai Richler's latest novels: "I love Mordecai's book- I read it every time he writes it."

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Disaffected LibApril 23, 2022 at 1:15 PM

    Excellent contributions, MNewsham. Thank you. I only met Richler once but I assume he took that in his stride.

    ReplyDelete

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