All the Wit of Beethoven Los Angeles Times Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Noel Coward's Play Crackles with Snappy Wit dailybreeze.com Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Wanted: a great Bon Mot dvdtimes.co.uk/ Take a look at an interesting article we found.
Socrates devoted his life towards seeking the truth and it eventually killed him. Which leads us to ask is a thoroughly examined life the only kind worth living?
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October 24, 2008
Continuing our Friday Lite series, we are focusing today on wit, and its various forms. So, as a tribute to the pun, our recent transgression in the field, let’s cut to the quip.
According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, a quip is a sharp pointed, cutting remark.
A few film quips?
Groucho Marx dressing down his usual foil Margaret Dumont.
“I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.”
Some rapier like wit from Cyrano de Bergerac by way of Edmond Rostand: "Then as I end the refrain, thrust home!"
The quip is sometimes made under dying circumstances.
Oscar Wilde, penniless in a French hotel: "My wall paper and I are in a battle to the death, one or the other must go."
SWIM: See what I mean. ROTFLOL: Rolling on the floor laughing out loud. New forms of the quip, include text quip. Still, as you can see, in its infantile stage.
Repartee, is not only a response in swordplay, but can be quite pointed in its own right.
Fittingly, Mark Twain defined it with a quip.
“Repartee is something we think of 24 hours too late.”
But not always, as evidenced by Winston Churchill, who was thinking almost on his feet, when stung by the words, “You, sir, are drunk.”
"Yes, Madam, and you are ugly...but in the morning, I will be sober."
And who can resist this? (It was a fruitful party)
Lady Astor: “Winston, if you were my husband, I would poison your coffee!” “Madam, if I were your husband, I would drink it!”
A Bon Mot is French for good word. While the dictionary simply says it's a witty remark that provokes laughter, I would add it's not as cruel as a quip.
Adlai Stevenson: "A politician is a man who approaches every question with an open mouth."
"Selfishness must always be forgiven, you know, because there is no hope of a cure." says, Mary Crawford in Jane Austen's novel, "Mansfield Park."
An epithet can only be a metaphor and is sometimes attached to a person's name or replaces it entirely. For example, Charles the Fat. Or Catherine the Great.
Let no man write my epithet. (An example of a quip and a pun and self-protection.)
Maxims are profound philosophical truths:
"Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely" Lord Acton.
An adage applies to a saying that has gained credit through long use, and usually makes little sense if you think about it. “Good things come in small packages.”
An epigram is a witty expression, often paradoxical and well-phrased: "Remarriage is a triumph of hope over experience.” Samuel Johnson
Last and probably least is sarcasm, perhaps the lowest form of wit, (and according to Oscar Wilde, the highest form of humor). It's generally thought to come from people that lack the intelligence to respond with more elevated forms of humor. Although this example might suggest otherwise.
"Sometimes I need what only you can provide: your absence." Ashleigh Brilliant.
I hope you'll approve of this detailed summary, which could be labeled an oxymoron.
Eagerly awaiting your thrusts and parries at the Eye.
Share the Eye:
The story is told of the two British Parlimentarians in the heat of debate:
"Sir, you shall die either on the gallows or of a pox!"
"Sir, that would depend on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress!"
To: DreadPirateRoberts,
That's a good quote and probabbly as true today as it was then.
Here's four that come to mind:
"There are no limits to our greed, nor our cruelty" Zeno
"It is the quality, not the quantity that matters" Seneca
It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper." Rod Serling
"Et tu Brute?" Caesar
And perhaps I should add this one (a favorite of mine and one to remember in these trying economic times): "Fortune favors the Bold" Machiavelli quoting a Roman philosopher
I will assume until further notice that Gordon Gekko's "Greed is Good!" is shelved pending the results of the bail-out?
Gordon Gekko's "greed is good" speech was not a quip. It was the beginning of a long monologue which, if taken in its purest form, would make a bail-out impossible. Without greed, there would be no quips, no Greek philosophy, no love, and no Peterman's Eye.
My father and I were on a deep sea fishing trip and the subject had turned to women. He was trying to light his pipe and he turned to me and said,
"Every man goes to his grave, believing, in his heart, that he never got his fair share of sex."
And how can we forget the episode in which Claire Booth Luce held the door open for Dorothy Parker:
LUCE: Age before beauty.
PARKER: Pearls before swine.
Of all unlikely places, George Clooney's Leatherheads provides a few good ones, most notably when Rene Zellwegger observes "They must be mighty lonely without you at the Algonquin."
Someone recently reminded me of the term "Esprit de l'escalier" meaning "the spirit of the stairway" or more loosely, "the thing you thought of on the way home." But I am sure that never happens to any of you, eyesters.
One time I was at a charity auction and realized that I was sitting right behind an art dealer. As it happened, he had donated the piece being sold, a landscape. When the hammer came down, I tapped him on the shoulder and asked "Was that a goood buy?"
He replied "Oh, yes" and then paused just the right length before adding "... if you like that sort of thing."
Finally, I must repeat the story I read, about the man who was lecturing on language. He observed that, while double negatives are quite common, and generally are taken to mean an affirmative, he was unaware of a double affirmative being used to mean the negative. From the back of the room came this response "Yeah, yeah."
How about dinner one more time? Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Sarah Bernhardt ( leg restored, svp) and Tallulah Bankhead. I'll save the last seat for my date.
Then there are what I call 'folk sayings', like the Southern one, 'Even a blind sow finds acorns once in a while', or the Spanish ones, like 'Into a closed mouth; flies do not enter'. And then 'momisms' (stuff your mom always said): 'If he jumped off a bridge, would you?
I really like Sensei Peterman's distinctions and definitions of 'the family': quip; repartee; bon mot; epithet; adage; epigram; and sarcasm. It strikes me that these all share a 'poetic element': the use of concentrated expression to express a complicated idea simply. Those of us in sales often develop a kit-bag of these to do our jobs. Working in the moving and relocation industry, some of my favorites are: 'Ah, a phone estimate! They tend to be worth the paper they are not written on!'; 'Ah, a lower price.... be careful you don't end up hiring Three Ex-Cons and a Dump Truck'.
Given the way humans process information, an epigram or a quip is often a good capstone for a parable. (I won't give any parables here). I would love to have heard Mark Twain re-work Aesop's tales... as I suspect he must have.
The best quip I've heard in my office was thfrom one of our clericals. She (along with all the rest of us) was sick and tired of hearing our office 'political junkie' hectoring us on the virtues of his favorite politician and how much that gentleman loved the American people. Tammy turned to him and said, 'Jimmy, you know something? [name deleted] wouldn't have you clean his swimming pool!' The very truth of the statement hit home, and silence reigned...
Robert Frost:
"I hold it to be the inalienable right of anybody to go to hell in his own way"
Also, saw this on a cemetery headstone in Hatfield, Massachusetts:
Here lies as silent clay
Miss Arabella Young
Who on the 21st of May
Began to hold her tongue
With Election Day being only 11 days away, I am reminded of Mark Twain:
"If we would learn what the human race really is at bottom, we need only observe it in election times."
I don't know the provenance of this quote, but have used it on certain occasions:
"If it wasn't for the alcohol there would be no moisture in that woman whatsoever."
I cannot let this day pass without a shout out to the master of the quip and rapier wit. Or is it mistress? Regardless, give it up for Mae West!
A mere sample of her wit:
"When I'm good, I'm very good. But when I'm bad I'm better."
"When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before."
"I only like two kinds of men, domestic and imported."
"A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up."
Agreed, Mae West is best for her bawdy quips!
"To err is human, but it feels devine."
"Give a man a free hand and he'll run it all over you."
I'm also a big fan of sarcasm. John Stewart and "The Daily Show" are excellent sources for that.
"I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land. "
"I've been to Canada, and I've always gotten the impression that I could take the country over in about two days."
"Yesterday, the POresident met with a group he calls the coalition of the willing. Or, as the rest of the world calls them, Britain and Spain. "
...meant 'divine'...
When I read Mr. Peterman's Marx quote above,
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception."
I thought, Wait, isn't that Bugs Bunny's line?
Which made me think of one of my favorite Seinfeldian quips,
Elaine to Jerry (in line for the opera): "It's so sad that all your knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons."
Pretty true of me, too. So sad.
Crazy day. Will check in later to laugh.
Hard to know where or if this would fit but having been asked by Sandor "Don't Call Me Sandy" _______, to write an apology to some folks he felt he had wronged, I took it to his hospital room for approval.
There were sixteen people seated and standing in the corridor and none of the nearby rooms was occupied.
The letter sounding neither more nor less sorry than he was, met with his approval.
He was wired up like a moonshot, the only patient I had ever seen requiring three of those stand monitors.
He had some advice:
"Don't get sick, but when you do, whatever you do, don't get caught up in a courageous battle. When's the last time you heard of someone dying after a sniveling, whiney, cowardly tussle with the grim reaper?"
I had to admit that he had a point there.
"But most important," he went on, "Never, ever let yourself be surrounded by family and loved ones. All of a sudden, you're not just an old sick guy with a crummy prognosis- You're on the egg timer!"
I guess that explained the sign on the door that allowed only two persons at a time to stand on the little 2x3 throw rug at the foot of the bed and maybe the five foot brass headed billiard bridge at his side as well.
He is still kicking. I checked.
And, we must not forget the wit of Oscar Wilde:
"Men always want to be a woman's first love; women have a more subtle instinct: what they like is to be a man's last romance."
"The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything."
"Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much."
"Morality, like Art, means drawing a line someplace."
I tend to better with Scarcasm ~ I find to have truely Great Repartee one need to have a willing partner. I happened to have LOVED the show Gilmore Girls because the writer Amy Sherman Pallidino wrote scripts that had GREAT Repartee & believeable characters enacting it.
I LOVE the Repartee & Quips that in His Girl Friday between Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell ~ Grant:"There's been a lamp burning in the window for ya, honey... here." Russell: "Oh, I jumped out that window a long time ago."
For me there just isn't enough "Banter" of it in todays' world....Luce & Parker are two fo my favorites to read quotes from ~ They just seemed to have a knack for all of it.
rings90: As much as my manhood hates to admit it, I watched the first couple of season of The Gilmore Girls and loved, LOVED the writing on that show. It was so 1940ish in style, content, and pace. Great banter. Loved it.
Rory: Do something to make me hate you!
Lorelai: Um, go Hitler?
Young Lorelai: Okay, this is a big pain and I'd really like it to go away, please.
Nurse: Just breathe deep, honey.
Young Lorelai: Breathing doesn't help, can I hit you instead?
Nurse: What?
Young Lorelai: Or pinch you really hard, 'cause that might make me feel better.
Nurse: No, you cannot hit me.
Young Lorelai: Can I bite you or pull your hair or use the Epilady on you 'cause I really need to do something.
That is some great stuff.
Although, today, my taste gravitates more toward "Picasso at Valaurius" and "The Father of All T-Shirts", some very clever quips have appeared on t-shirts. One of my favorites:
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.
One Doc,
"If it wasn't for the alcohol there would be no moisture in that woman whatsoever."
Not funny, but she came to our door this morning with political literature unable to operate her thumbs and unsteady.
"Ma'am, you seem unwell. You better come inside and sit down for a minute."
She refused. i grabbed a folding chair from the hall and a lap blanket from a cupboard and situating her under the eaves and out of the drizzle, asked if she wanted me to call a doctor or an ambulance.
"I am not sick, you idiot!" she explained, "I am drunk."
She had, on a lanyard, a laminated card. I called that number and asked for the guy, her son.
"Is she loaded," he wondered.
"Claims to be," I replied, "Bit of an early start wouldn't you say?"
"More likely a late finish," he sighed, and came over with someone to drive her car and took her away.
I'm wishing that I had suggested throwing away the car keys.
Speaking of Alcohol & an Oxymoran in our Noon Newcast the lead story is how the Governor wants the State cops to really "Crack Down" on the Drunk Drivers. Then the story after it was about how the Human Society is holding their Yearly Brewfest Benefit tonite. Yep an event were you go & taste test all the local Brewery & Winery's beverage's. Too funny I will most likley have 3 compalint calls in regards to also promoting a drinking event on the news.
Rings and Agent,
Love the old world banter. One of the reasons I love Nora Ephron. I think she takes a pretty good stab at it, for a modern broad.
Don't know if you know any of her parents' work, but they were a screenplay writing team back in the day—Henry and Phoebe Ephron.
They did the Spencer and Hepburn pairing in Desk Set. Lots of good quipping in that.
Richard: Now what is the first thing you notice in a person?
Bunny:
Whether the person is male or female.
I once heard Nora interviewed about growing up around that atmosphere and she said dinner time was nothing but endless quips and repartees. I can imagine. Her sisters both write, too. Delia and Amy.
Henry and Phoebe were brilliant. They took regular spousal verbal abuse, wrote it down, and lived off of it. Now that is wit.
Oscar Wilde, I think, is the best of wit. Or the worst, depending on what you think of wit; though somehow, knowing the people here, I doubt there's any wit-haters in this... forum.
"To be great is to be misunderstood."
"To lose one parent is a tragedy; to lose both seems like carelessness."
"There is no sin except stupidity."
"Men marry because they are tired; women, because they are curious: both are disappointed."
"To define is to limit."
The great part is, most of them still apply today.
The One at the Desk,
Yes indeed, Oscar Wilde was one of the greats. On the subject of marriage, he also said:
"I understand Niagara Falls is where young brides are often taken, thus providing the first (if not the most acute) disappointment of married life."
He also pointed out that most books could be divided into two categories, the unread and the unreadable.
Children can also have a singular wit. Some of their comments can be quite profound, usually without them knowing it. Like the boy who asks why it makes a difference whether or not he brushes his teeth, if all his teeth are going to fall out anyway. I think kids might be the authorities on laughing and taking life lightly. It can be so much fun to see the world differently through their astute observations.
An Elementary School teacher once gave me a copy of the following piece. I don't know where she got it from, so I'm afraid I can't give it proper credit, but I hope you'll find it enjoyable.
"A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in the class the first half of a proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of it. Whether this is apocryphal, I don't know. But it's cute. Here are various and assorted proverb endings that her students delivered:
Better to be safe than...........Punch a fifth grader.
Strike while the.................Bug is close.
It's always darkest before.......Daylight Saving Time.
Never underestimate the power of.......Termites.
You can lead a horse to water but.......How?
Don't bite the hand that........Looks dirty.
No news is......................Impossible.
A miss is as good as a..........Mr.
You can't teach an old dog new......Math.
If you lie down with dogs, you'll.....Stink in the morning.
Love all, trust.................Me.
The pen is mightier than the......Pigs.
An idle mind is.................The best way to relax.
Where there's smoke, there's......Pollution.
Happy the bride who.............Gets all the presents.
A penny saved is................Not much.
Two's company, three's..........The Musketeers.
Don't put off til tomorrow what.......you put on to go to bed.
None is so blind as.............Stevie Wonder
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and......You have to blow your nose."
"Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everyone else?" James Thurber
Okay,
Who wants to match wits? Am all hopped up on black tea and have just finished my pile of editing.
Rings? Nachista? Ooooooolivia?
Bring it. . .
P.S.
Should warn that, in addition to an entire box of black tea, have been hitting repeat on this song throughout the A.M. editing session.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bNDr1A6dTU
Slightly amped.
When I was in middle school one of my friends gave me a pin that said ~
"I Refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person" I still have it I pin it on my jacket whenever I have visit the inlaws....
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving is definitely not for you!
Sorry Missive I'm up to my neck in payoffs today, besides I'm not sure where my wits are, I've looked everywhere and can't find them.
Rings,
I'm going to assume that you weren't talking about me as the 'unarmed person,' even though your post came right after I challenged you to a match of wits.
If I'm wrong, then you have just gone up in my estimation as a girl who really comes out swinging.
Funny girl.
Nachista,
Another day then.
Have a great weekend, all.
There will never be the right day for this and things are a little slow- so:
Today was my day to take our dog over to visit Ms. Bissel. It comes around about once a month.
Months ago, I set up an old laptop and left it with her.
"I'll never use it," she squawked but didn't tell me to take it away. I figured that at least visiting kids would.
"How much juice does that thing suck?" she later inquired.
"What do you care? You said you would never use it."
It turns out that thanks to her gerontologist, a young woman, that among other things, she checks The Eye but from the bottom up seeing how long it takes to figure out Mr. Peterman's topic- if ever.
She has her favorite contributors, some she does not like and no, I really wouldn't care to share with you where Stoney fell. Not particularly nice of you to wonder for all that.
Missive ~ Of Course I wasn't referring to you as an unarmed person. I've been around here long enough to make sure all my own wits are together before even beginning to think of challenging you to a battle.... Besides I have a feeling we'd be better off working together rhater than against each other.
Stoney ~ You ahd to go & let the Genie outta of the bottle ~ Its Killing me to know who she likes & doesn't. Although in the pit of my stomach is the feeling that I'm about to be the last person picked for the Volleyball Team...
There is a great serious of computer games called Monkey Island.
Synopsis: "Monkey Island is the collective name given to a series of four graphical adventure games produced and published by LucasArts, originally known as LucasFilm Games through the development of the first two games in the series. The games follow the misadventures of the hapless Guybrush Threepwood as he struggles to become the most notorious pirate in the Caribbean, defeat the plans of the evil undead pirate LeChuck and win the heart of governor Elaine Marley"
But the pirates in this game are quite funny. When you engage one in a rapier battle, the outcome is determined by how well you hurl insults at your oppoenent and how well he/she responds (rapier wit, anybody?). "Insult Swordfighting consists of a series of Call and Response exchanges, in which an insult must be countered with a witty retort. Should the responder counter with an appropriate retort, they win the right to call the next insult; fail to respond, and the caller gains an advantage. Win enough of these exchanges, and the duel is won"
Now I want to play one of these games. I wonder if any still exist somewhere and can still run on my Mac.
rings90
You're home and dry my dear. She adores women who can say things in sentences, care about food, each other and then: "If need be, a man- maybe two."
The only female seeming name that she mentioned as being "tut-tutty and annoying," was not known to me.
I know these things BTW mostly by listening to her conversations with the dog the great lady herself being a bit grand to chat up the help.
My hotel in Paris was so bad it was on Rue the Day. (Dennis Miller)
"Who is wise? He that learns from every one.
Who is powerful? He that governs his passions.
Who is rich? He that is content.
Who is that? Nobody." Ben Franklin
more on the honor rollSpeaking of the great Mr. Twain, this one is my very favorite:
"In the first place, God created idiots. That was for practice. Then He created school boards."
In my almost 50 years on this planet, I've seen very little to belie that quote!
Other favorites, although more serious:
We claim to celebrate diversity, but when faced with diversity we complain. We try
to teach our children to think "out of the box", but when faced with someone who
actually does, we criticize. We should be glad that we live in a country that