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The wittiest put-downs ever?

(97 Posts)
Foxygloves Sat 29-Jul-23 20:58:20

Just wanted to share these- they are wonderful and I bet we can all think of some deserving recipients

These insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words. Insults then, had some class!

1. "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, I will attend the second...If there is one."
- Winston Churchill, in response.

2. 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."

3. "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr

4. "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
- Clarence Darrow

5. "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

6."Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
- Moses Hadas

7. "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
- Mark Twain

8. "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends.."
- Oscar Wilde

9. "I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
- Stephen Bishop

10."He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
- John Bright

11. "I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
- Irvin S. Cobb

12. "He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others."
- Samuel Johnson

13. "He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
- Paul Keating

14. "In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
- Charles, Count Talleyrand

15. "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him."
- Forrest Tucker

16. "Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
- Mark Twain

17. "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
- Mae West

18. "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
- Oscar Wilde

19. "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... For support rather than illumination."
- Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

20. "He has Van Gogh's ear for music."
- Billy Wilder

21. "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
- Groucho Marx.

22."He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
- Winston Churchill

LilyoftheValley Sat 29-Jul-23 21:03:58

Truly wonderful.

3dognight Sat 29-Jul-23 21:04:07

Made me smile, brilliant

GrannyGravy13 Sat 29-Jul-23 21:07:16

Thanks for that Foxygloves

Germanshepherdsmum Sat 29-Jul-23 21:26:09

Delicious. I wonder if they would break guidelines were we to use them?

Callistemon21 Sat 29-Jul-23 21:34:37

Lady Astor to Winston Churchill: “If I were married to you, I’d put poison in your coffee.”
Winston Churchill's reply: “If I were married to you, I’d drink it.”

Calipso Sat 29-Jul-23 21:36:04

I love this one

Callistemon21 Sat 29-Jul-23 21:38:34

Churchill again:

"Mr. Attlee is a very modest man. Indeed he has a lot to be modest about".

OnwardandUpward Sat 29-Jul-23 21:50:10

Love these! Especially the shiver one! grin

25Avalon Sat 29-Jul-23 22:06:33

Churchill

An empty cab drew up and Attlee got out

Georgesgran Sat 29-Jul-23 22:06:36

I have a very pretty friend (so she should be as she spends a fortune on looking good) but she’s not the brightest bulb in the box.
A phrase of Judge Judy’s often comes to mind - beauty fades, but stupid is forever.

25Avalon Sat 29-Jul-23 22:08:12

Grouch Marx

I wouldn’t want to join any club that would have me as a member

JenniferEccles Sat 29-Jul-23 22:17:07

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

A famous quote of course but there seems to be a lot of uncertainty about who actually said it.

Marydoll Sat 29-Jul-23 23:20:48

Great thread!

The people who tolerate you on a daily basis are the real heroes.

I’ll never forget the first time we met, but I’ll keep trying.

kittylester Sun 30-Jul-23 06:33:43

Thank you foxy. Those are the sort of thing that I think of an hour or so later.

Grammaretto Sun 30-Jul-23 06:44:02

These are great!

Whitewavemark2 Sun 30-Jul-23 07:06:38

Divine - I wish I was so quick witted.

gangy5 Sun 30-Jul-23 07:13:10

Such a welcome thread Foxygloves. Thank you !! Cheered me up no end this morning.

Ashcombe Sun 30-Jul-23 07:31:20

I used this once in a pantomime when I was one half of a comedy duo, taking the stage following a song:-

“There’s nothing like a good song…… and that was nothing like a good song!”

Marydoll Sun 30-Jul-23 08:13:40

This one is quite unkind!

I was hoping for a battle of wits but you appear to be unarmed.

sodapop Sun 30-Jul-23 08:49:32

kittylester

Thank you foxy. Those are the sort of thing that I think of an hour or so later.

Brilliant ripostes. Like kittylester I always think of a witty reply an hour too late.

hulahoop Sun 30-Jul-23 09:53:52

These have cheered me up thanks all😃

Shinamae Sun 30-Jul-23 09:59:07

Absolutely brilliant. 😂😂😂😂

eazybee Sun 30-Jul-23 10:26:35

A young girl on the Reception desk at the Town Hall, dealing with a self-important councillor who had queue-jumped:
"Don't you know who I am?"
" No. Should I?"

Bella23 Sun 30-Jul-23 10:34:45

Message withdrawn at poster's request.