At its best, rudeness can be an art form, and the Cassell Dictionary of Insulting Quotations is a glorious celebration of the polished outpourings of its most successful practitioners. Luckless victims range from famous literary figures to politicians to kings and queens to actors, musicians and artists and there are also devastating side-sweeps at more general targets for invective, such as businessmen, newspapers and the countryside. Entertaining, funny and rude, this collection delves deeply and viciously into the uncharitable side of human nature.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
It's hard to resist a book that has for its own jacket copy the following sentence: "Cruel, snide, rude and bitchy, the Cassell Dictionary of Insulting Quotations records the human spirit at its least spiritual." For once, there's truth in advertising: this book is a glorious celebration of how scathingly, hilariously, and aptly mean people have been to one another through the centuries. In its pages you'll find writers skewering writers; politicians badmouthing other politicians; nations insulting other nations; and, of course, critics savaging everyone in sight. There's Georges Clemenceau on the United States: "America is the only nation in history which, miraculously, has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization." Or Robert Hughes on the artist Jeff Koons: "The last bit of methane left in the intestine of the dead cow that is post-modernism." It's all good, dirty fun--and great for plagiarizing the next time you need witty dinner party repartee. Just be careful who you sit next to....
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Jonathon Green is Britain's leading lexicographer of slang. His many creditsinclude the Macmillan Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, Slang Down the Ages,Chasing the Sun: Dictionary-Makers and the Dictionaries They Made, The Cassell Dictionary of Slang (published to great acclaim in December 1998), and most recently, the best-selling Big Book of Filth, a survey of 6500 sex slang wor
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Entertaining Read, But Could Be A Better Reference,
By Sir Charles Panther "Life is hard. It's hard... (Alexandria, Virginny, USandA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Cassell Dictionary of Insulting Quotations (Paperback)
More than anything else, this is a very enjoyable read. The surprisingly direct, pointed, unvarnished, and invariably insulting things said by the famous about the famous are absolutely fantastic. Credit to author Green's and publisher Cassell's courage for faithfully reproducing these quotations, despite racist, anti-Semitic, sexist, misogynistic, xenophobic, homophobic, and borderline vulgar content. But then again, these ARE insulting quotations, so what do you expect? Keep in mind that this is NOT a dictionary of curses and abuse, so these insulting quotations are notable for their intelligence, wit, and insight.The quotations are limited almost exclusively to English (British) and American quotations. I don't remember any quotations specifically cited as having been translated. I think the book would gain depth from relevant foreign quotations. The quotations are almost all modern, that is dating mostly from the 19th century. There are some older entries, such as from (English) King John, William Laud, Kings Richard II and II, etc. There are a few entries from antiquity (Plato, Aristophenes, St. John Chrysostom, etc.), but not as many as I would have expected. Although gone for a couple of thousand years, I am sure the ancient Romans and Greeks had plenty of unpleasant things to say about one another and other subjects which would still be relevant and amusing today. Regarding this book as a reference, it could be slightly better organized. There is no table of contents, but the index is extensive, listing quotation sources/authors as well as applicable subject areas. It is well cross-referenced, with the primary entries being highlighted in the index in bold. Some additional work, to include listings for source descriptions and the content of quotes would perfect the index. Example: Oscar Wilde is credited in a quote as an "Irish author, playwright, and wit" but there is no listing for this particular quote under "Irish," "playwright," or "wit."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great fun and a superb reference,
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This review is from: Cassell Dictionary of Insulting Quotations (Paperback)
The famous bad-mouthing the infamous - or something like that!This book is hugely interesting, uproariously funny, outrageously vulgar in places, but true to the spirit of `tell it as it is'. After all, these ARE insulting quotations, so what do you expect? Above all, you'll find quotations that are notable for their intelligent wit - like the book's cover, Churchill and Lady Astor... And many others - often in less direct form:- "Prince Charles is an insensitive, hypocritical oaf and Princess Diana is a selfish, empty-headed bimbo. They should never have got married in the first place. I blame the parents." (Richard Littlejohn, British journalist). My favourite is what one British politician said of another... "He's a shiver looking for a spine to run up." The indexing is a little lax but otherwise, `Insulting Quotations' is a must for any cynic's bookshelf.
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