Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations [Hardcover]

Ned Sherrin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2005

This hilarious collection of humorous quotations, full of wisecracks and wit, snappy comments and inspired fantasy, has been specially chosen by Ned Sherrin. Now with even more quotes on more subjects: from Gambling to Hollywood, from Diets to Shopping. Find the best lines from your favourite jokesters and wordsmiths, add that extra something to a speech or presentation, or just enjoy a good laugh.

'If God had wanted us to bend over, He would have put diamonds on the floor.' Joan Rivers on Health

'It's hard to be funny when you have to be clean.' Mae West on Humor

'Don't get mad, get everything.' Ivana Trump on Marriage

'They misunderestimated me.' George W. Bush on Self-Knowledge

'If it's shiny, I buy it.' Graham Norton on Shopping

Editorial Reviews

Review

Review from previous edition Reviews from first edition:

`The ultimate guide to the sharpest, wryest and wittiest quips, put-downs and one-liners' Romford Recorder

`However you like your humour, there will be something here for you and I defy you to leaf through it and find nothing to bring a smile to the lips ' Herts Advertiser

Reviews from second edition hardback:

`One of the bargains of the year. Indispensable for speechmakers, writers, etc., and indeed anyone who enjoys quotations' Publishing News

`Does not disappoint . . . a brilliant manual for writers, after-dinner speakers and best men ' South Wales Evening Post

About the Author

Ned Sherrin is presenter of BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends. Producer and director of the ground-breaking 1960s satire TV show That Was the Week that Was, and producer of a number of films, including The Virgin Soldiers (1968) and Up Pompeii (1971), he has also written extensively for stage and screen. He has directed many theatre productions such as Side by Side by Sondheim (London 1976 and New York 1977) and Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (1989). He has compiled a number of anthologies, including Cutting Edge (Dent, 1984), Theatrical Anecdotes (Virgin, 1991), Ned Sherrin in his Anecdotage (Virgin, 1993), and the Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (OUP, 1995, 2/e 2001). He has also written a novel, Scratch an Actor (Sinclair Stevenson, 1995).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (November 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198610041
• ISBN-13: 978-0198610045
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,004,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When you need a great quip that fits the occasion ...look here!, March 22, 2006

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (Hardcover)

This is a treasure trove of humor for all occasions. There are many books of quotations from all kinds of people and for all occasions and topics; but here the book keeps to what is humorous.It is a great source to have handy; but it also makes for wonderful light hearted reading ,just to start at the front and to keep going.It is organized several ways so that a quote on a subject or by personality is easy to find. It was published in Britain so has a lot of lines that are new over here.
Here are a couple I enjoyed;

On being told that his fly buttons were undone,Winston Churchill commented;"No matter,dead birds do not leave the nest."

To her husband a chicken farmer in California,after a flash flood had wiped out his entire flock. "I told you to stick to ducks."

"Oh what a wonderous bird is the Pelican!
His beak holds more than his belican.
He takes in his beak,food enough for a week,
But I'll be damned if I know the helican."

"I opened it at page 96--the secret page,on which I
wrote my name to catch out borrowers and book sharks."
Flan O'Brien

It'd be hard to find a better book of humorous quotes.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much detail obscures the lessons, December 8, 2010

By 

H. M. Gladney (Saratoga, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations (Oxford Paperback Reference) (Paperback)

A theme of this book is that the history of radio transmission privilege teaches about Internet issues. Another is that media monopolies are pertinent for civil liberties. Both are worth paying attention to.

However, excessive detail about the personalities and wrangles of otherwise-forgotten British entrepreneurs makes it unnecessarily difficult for readers to discern and judge the arguments for and against central control of media and bandwidth. Had the book been 80% as long as it is, it would have been much better.