Messing About in Quotes
Messing About in
Quotes
A Little Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations
Edited by
Gyles Brandreth
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford.
It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries
© Oxford University Press 2018
The moral rights of the author have been asserted
First edition 2018
Impression: 1
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above
You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer
Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Data available
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943464
ISBN 978–0–19–881318–7
ebook ISBN 978–0–19–257488–6
Printed in Italy by L.E.G.O. S.p.A.
Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work.
List of Subjects
Academic Life
Acting
Actors
Advertising
Advice
Ageing
Ambition
America
Anger and Argument
Animals and Birds
Apology and Excuses
Appearance
Architecture
Argument see Anger and Argument
The Aristocracy
The Armed Forces
Art
Audiences
Australia
Autobiography
Awards and Honours
Baseball
Beauty
Betting and Gambling
The Bible
Biography
Birds see Animals and Birds
Birth and Pregnancy
The Body
Books
Bores
Boxing
The British
Bureaucracy
Business
Canada
Catchphrases see Comedy Routines and Catchphrases
Cats and Dogs
Censorship
Certainty and Doubt
Challenges see Life and its Challenges
Champagne
Character
Children
Choice
Christmas
The Cinema
Cities see Towns and Cities
Class
The Clergy
Colours
Comebacks
Comedy Routines and Catchphrases
Computers and the Internet
Conversation
Cookery
Countries and Peoples
The Country see Nature and the Country
Cricket
Crime and Punishment
Critics and Criticism
Dance
Dating
Death
Debt
Definitions
Democracy
Depression
Description
Despair see Hope and Despair
Diaries
Dictionaries
Diets
Diplomacy
Discontent see Satisfaction and Discontent
Divorce
Dogs see Cats and Dogs
Doubt see Certainty and Doubt
Dreams see Sleep and Dreams
Dress
Drink
Driving
Drugs
Drunkenness and Hangovers
Eating
Economics
Education
Enemies
England
Epitaphs
Examinations
Excuses see Apology and Excuses
Exercise
Faces
Failure
Fame
The Family
Family Life
Fashion
Feminism
Film Producers and Directors
Film Stars
Fishing
Flattery see Praise and Flattery
Flying
Food
Foolishness
Football
France
Friends
Funerals
The Future see Past, Present, and Future
Gambling see Betting and Gambling
Games see Sports and Games
Gardens
The Generation Gap
Gifts
God
Golf
Gossip
Government
Hair
Handwriting
Hangovers see Drunkenness and Hangovers
Happiness
Headlines
Health see Sickness and Health
Heroes
History
Holidays
Hollywood
Honours see Awards and Honours
Hope and Despair
Hospitality see Parties and Hospitality
Housework
The Human Race
Humour
Husbands
Hypocrisy
Ideas
Idleness
Ignorance
Insults
Intelligence and Intellectuals
The Internet see Computers and the Internet
Ireland and the Irish
Jewellery
Journalism
Judges
Kissing
Language
Languages
Last Words
The Law
Lawyers
Letters
Libraries
Lies
Life and its Challenges
Lifestyle
Literature
Love
Management
Manners
Marriage
Medicine
Memory
Men
Men and Women
Mental Health
Middle Age
The Mind
Mistakes and Misfortunes
Modern Life
Money
Morality
Mothers
Movies see The Cinema
Murder
Music
Musicians
Names
Nature and the Country
Newspapers
Office Life
Old Age
Opera
Optimism and Pessimism
The Paranormal
Parents
Parliament
Parties and Hospitality
Past, Present, and Future
People and Personalities
Peoples see Countries and Peoples
Personalities see People and Personalities
Pessimism see Optimism and Pessimism
Philosophy
Poetry
Poets
Political Parties
Politicians
Politics
Poverty
Power
Praise and Flattery
Pregnancy see Birth and Pregnancy
Prejudice
Present see Past, Present, and Future
Presidents
Prime Ministers
Progress
Publishing
Punishment see Crime and Punishment
Puns
Quotations
Reading
Relationships
Religion
Restaurants
Retirement
Royalty
Satisfaction and Discontent
Science
Scotland
Secrecy
Self-Knowledge and Self-Deception
Sex
Sickness and Health
Singing see Songs and Singing
Sleep and Dreams
Snobbery
Society and Social Life
Songs and Singing
Speeches
Sports and Games
Statistics
Success
Taxes
Technology
Telegrams
Television
Tennis
The Theatre
Time
Towns and Cities
Transport
Travel
Trust and Treachery
Truth
Unintended Humour
The Universe
Virtue and Vice
Wales
War
Wealth
The Weather
Weddings
Wine
Wit and Wordplay
Wives
Women and Woman’s Role
Wordplay see Wit and Wordplay
Words
Work
Writers
Writing
Youth