Some classy insults!

These insults are from an era before our English language got boiled down to 4-letter words. These folks really knew how to use the language to mock/blast/eviscerate each other!

“I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.” -Groucho Marx

“He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.” – Samuel Johnson

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

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

“I’ve just learned about his illness. Let’s hope it’s nothing trivial.” -Irvin S. Cobb

“He had delusions of adequacy.” -Walter Kerr

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

“Some cause happpiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go.” -Oscar Wilde

I find these witty…some snarky…some just delightful!

How about you?

Nothingness has something to offer…

Consider that it’s the space between the notes that makes the music. Music is not a note or even a series of notes. What is required to have music is silent empty space between the notes. A note without space is one long sound. That space is absolutely necessary in order to creat sound in […]

Can we really “save” time?

We’re not really saving daylight today. We’re just shifting our perception of it. Time isn’t really a “thing.” It’s a viewpoint, a linear measure of an experience. It’s recollection of the past, attention in the present, anticipation of the future. After all, we all know that the time spend in the dentist chair is different […]

Banish these 3 phrases!

Many of us don’t understand that what we say matters. We have the power to create our world with our words. And we may not know it, but some words can hold us back from the life we desire. Here are three to consider: There are indeed many things we cannot do. We can’t be […]

It’s okay to be a hobbit!

When wizard Gandalf presents Bilbo Baggins as the last member of the dwarf company in Tolkein’s story, he faces resistance because the dwarves don’t think Bilbo’s up to the task. Neither does Bilbo! After all, he can’t fight. He can’t fend for himself in the wild. Gandalf settles the debate by pointing out one quality: […]

It’s expensive to be poor

It’s probably because I’m working on my tax returns that I’m more sensitive to the contrast between expensive and cheap, between well off and poor. And I have to admit that I feel fortunate that I haven’t really had to struggle with poverty. But my awareness of the extreme differences in our society has been […]

from a kid’s view…

In honor of this month’s focus on ‘meaningful’ relationships, this post shares some fun statements youngsters have made about love and marriage! HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY? You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should […]

Are you wintering?

Here’s a thought-provoking word: wintering. I enjoyed reflecting on Katherine May’s words in my recently-read Wintering: the Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times. She describes it as those moments when life turns cold through crisis or loss and we find ourselves living at a different, slower pace. Wintering is a process by which […]

Let Go?!

There’s many a lesson I’m still learning, and this is one of them! LETTING GO(D) doesn’t mean not caring, it means not taking responsibility for someone else. LETTING GO(D) doesn’t mean cutting myself off from others, it means realizing that I can’t control others. LETTING GO(D) doesn’t mean caring for, it means caring about. LETTING […]

Skating on thin ice?

When I’m experimenting with something new, I’m often a bit tentative, not sure that what I’m messing around with is solid enough to hold the full weight of my being. In times like these, I picture myself standing on the edge of a frozen body of water, asking “Is this ice thick enough to hold […]