Wit

Wit

 

"I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance. Ignorance is a delicate exotic fruit, touch it and the bloom is gone." 
~The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde

 

Joey – the innocent, heroic young man presently providing much needed nourishment for the contestants in ‘I’m a celebrity …’ comes to mind when I hear this quote.

A favourite Joeyism:

‘I don’t confrontate.’ 

 

Noel Coward:

When asked why he would not "come out" in his final years and announce his sexual preference:
"Because there are still three old ladies in Brighton who don't know.”

Bea Lillie:
Noel and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door and he asked, "Who is it?" I lowered my voice and said, "Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?" He answered, "Just a minute, I'll ask him."

John Lahr:
"We're talking about a style that became a way of being for a lot of people. English cultural history between the world wars is, in some extremely large part, Noël Coward. He put himself into the narrative the English tell themselves about their struggles, their suffering, their triumphs. In the first half of this century he wrote the songs that homogenized, as it were, English public sentiment; he wrote the great historical pageant of the time (Cavalcade) and the era's great romantic story (the film Brief Encounter, 1945)."

A favourite of mine was when Coward was watching with a friend the Queen’s Coronation procession and saw the quite large Queen of Tonga passing in a carriage.

‘Who’s that with her,’ asked the friend.

‘Lunch,’ said Noel.

 

Jane Austen:

‘I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice though, not in principle.’

 

Dodie Smith:

Contemplation seems to be about the only luxury that costs nothing.’

 

Noble deeds and hot baths are the best cures for depression.

 

Dorothy Parker

 

If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be surprised.

 

Have you got a favourite example of wit? I’d love to hear them.

 

 

Take care of the luxuries and the necessities will take care of themselves.