These glorious insults are from an era before 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."
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 "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).
"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." -
Moses Hadas"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"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 WilderI've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." -
Groucho Marx
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