The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations

Chosen and introduced by writer, satirist and broadcaster Ned Sherrin, this entertaining collection of 5000 quotations displays all shades of humour - dry, black, wry, sly, witty, wacky, or even unintended. Quotations are courtesy of comedians (from Bob Hope and Groucho Marx to Victoria Wood and Monty Python), playwrights (from Shaw and Wilde to Alan Bennett and Tom Stoppard), novelists (P.G. Wodehouse, Joseph Heller, or Flann O'Brien), journalists and reviewers (P.J. O'Rourke, Julie Burchill and Dorothy Parker), politicians (from Disraeli to JFK and John Major) and many others - actors, producers, cartoonists, lyricists, moguls, soldiers, and lawyers among them. Organized by subject, the quotations range from acting and the theatre to youth, by way of behaviour and etiquette, the body, comedy routines and catchphrases, death, gossip, insults and invective, sex, snobbery and much more. Each quotation is accompanied by its source and date, and quotations are put in context by explanatory notes.