American - Author | December 8, 1894 - November 2, 1961
Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.
James Thurber
HumorChaosTranquilityEmotional
One martini is all right. Two are too many, and three are not enough.
EnoughThreeRightTwoMartiniMany
Sophistication might be described as the ability to cope gracefully with a situation involving the presence of a formidable menace to one's poise and prestige (such as the butler, or the man under the bed - but never the husband).
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The laughter of man is more terrible than his tears, and takes more forms hollow, heartless, mirthless, maniacal.
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A drawing is always dragged down to the level of its caption.
DrawingDownAlwaysLevelDragged
Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?
FunnyYouWhyLikeEverybodyElse
The animals that depend on instinct have an inherent knowledge of the laws of economics and of how to apply them; Man, with his powers of reason, has reduced economics to the level of a farce which is at once funnier and more tragic than Tobacco Road.
KnowledgeManEconomicsRoadDepend
Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine a famous witty saying that is not immediately clear.
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Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?
FunnyYouPhoneWrongWhyAnswer
But what is all this fear of and opposition to Oblivion? What is the matter with the soft Darkness, the Dreamless Sleep?
FearDarknessSleepMatterSoft
The most dangerous food is wedding cake.
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The nation that complacently and fearfully allows its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer regarded as a nation possessed with humor or depth.
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