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Acerbic Wit
Caustic humour is a type of humour which relies on witty insults. As is implied by the name (which literally means humour which is designed to Burn (injury), burn or to corrode), it involves the clever use of language to convey biting, insulting, or sometimes even cruel remarks. This kind of humour is often attributed to such comedians and comedic writers as Lenny Bruce, David Foster Wallace, Richard Pryor, Don Rickles, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Fran Lebowitz, Bea Arthur, Andrew Dice Clay, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, Ricky Gervais, and Bill Murray, philosophers Voltaire and Ludwig Wittgenstein and politicians Sir Michael Cullen (politician), Michael Cullen, Paul Keating, Derryn Hinch, and Dennis Skinner. It is a feature of the work of children’s author Roald Dahl. Examples * * * References Humour {{comedy-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humour
Humour ( Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humoral medicine of the ancient Greeks, which taught that the balance of fluids in the human body, known as humours (Latin: ', "body fluid"), controlled human health and emotion. People of all ages and cultures respond to humour. Most people are able to experience humour—be amused, smile or laugh at something funny (such as a pun or joke)—and thus are considered to have a ''sense of humour''. The hypothetical person lacking a sense of humour would likely find the behaviour to be inexplicable, strange, or even irrational. Though ultimately decided by personal taste, the extent to which a person finds something humorous depends on a host of variables, including geographical location, culture, maturity, level of education, intelligence and context. For example, young children may favour slapstick such as Punch and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Dice Clay
Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the first stand-up comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden for two consecutive nights. That same year, he played the lead role in the comedy-mystery film ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane''. Clay has appeared in several films and television shows, including critically acclaimed supporting roles in Woody Allen's '' Blue Jasmine'' (2013) and Bradley Cooper's directorial debut '' A Star Is Born'' (2018). He continues his acting career while also touring and performing stand-up. The television show ''Dice'' aired on Showtime for two seasons. He also launched a podcast, ''I'm Ova Hea' Now'', in September 2018. Early life Clay was born to parents Jacqueline and Fred Silverstein in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dennis Skinner
Dennis Edward Skinner (born 11 February 1932) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolsover for 49 years, from 1970 to 2019. He is a member of the Labour Party. Known for his left-wing views and acerbic wit, Skinner belonged to the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs. He was a member of Labour's National Executive Committee, with brief breaks, for thirty years, and was the chairman of the Committee in 1988–89. He was one of the longest serving members of the House of Commons and the longest continuously-serving Labour MP. He is a lifelong Eurosceptic. Early life and career Born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, Skinner is the third of nine children. His father Edward Skinner was a coal miner who was sacked after the 1926 general strike, and his mother Lucy was a cleaner. In June 1942, at the age of 10, Skinner won a scholarship to attend Tupton Hall Grammar School after passing the eleven-plus a year early. In 1949, he went on to work a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derryn Hinch
Derryn Nigel Hinch (born 9 February 1944) is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for Victoria from 2016 to 2019. Hinch was elected to the Senate representing Victoria as the head of Derryn Hinch's Justice Party at the 2016 federal election. Aged 72 at the time, Hinch was, when elected, the oldest federal parliamentarian ever to be elected for the first time. He lost his senate seat in the 2019 election. He remained host of his weekly program ''Hinch Live'' until the election campaign period officially commenced, in a decision supported by Sky News Live. He has been the host of 3AW's ''Drive'' radio show, and a National Public Affairs commentator for the Seven Network on '' Sunday Night'', ''Today Tonight'' and ''Sunrise''. Hinch has been convicted of contempt of court three times, serving two prison sentences and one sen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously served as treasurer of Australia in the Hawke government from 1983 to 1991 and as deputy prime minister of Australia from 1990 to 1991. Keating was born in Sydney and left school at the age of 14. He joined the Labor Party at the same age, serving a term as State President of Young Labor and working as a research assistant for a trade union. He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the age of 25, winning the division of Blaxland at the 1969 election. Keating briefly served as Minister for Northern Australia from October to November 1975, in the final weeks of the Whitlam government. After the Dismissal removed Labor from power, he held senior portfolios in the Shadow Cabinets of Gough Whitlam and Bill Hayden. Durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Cullen (politician)
Sir Michael John Cullen (5 February 1945 – 19 August 2021) was a New Zealand politician. He served as the 16th deputy prime minister of New Zealand, also as the minister of Finance, minister of Tertiary Education, and attorney-general. He was the deputy leader of the Labour Party from 1996 until November 2008, when he resigned following a defeat in the general election. He resigned from Parliament in April 2009, to become the deputy chairman of New Zealand Post from 1 November 2009 and chairman from 1 November 2010 until leaving the role in 2016. On 6 March 2020 he announced that he had resigned from the Lakes and Bay of Plenty district health boards, respectively. At the same time he also announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 small-cell lung cancer, which had also spread to his liver. Early life and education Cullen was born in Enfield in north London on 5 February 1945, the son of Ivy May Cullen (née Taylor) and John Joseph Thomas Cullen. His father was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considered by some to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. From 1929 to 1947, Wittgenstein taught at the University of Cambridge. In spite of his position, during his entire life only one book of his philosophy was published, the 75-page ''Logisch-Philosophische Abhandlung'' (''Logical-Philosophical Treatise'', 1921), which appeared, together with an English translation, in 1922 under the Latin title '' Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus''. His only other published works were an article, "Some Remarks on Logical Form" (1929); a book review; and a children's dictionary. His voluminous manuscripts were edited and published posthumously. The first and best-known of this posthumous series is the 1953 book ''Philosophical Investigations ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—especially of the Roman Catholic Church—and of slavery. Voltaire was an advocate of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, histories, and scientific expositions. He wrote more than 20,000 letters and 2,000 books and pamphlets. Voltaire was one of the first authors to become renowned and commercially successful internationally. He was an outspoken advocate of civil liberties and was at constant risk from the strict censorship laws of the Catholic French monarchy. His polemics witheringly satirized intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Murray
William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on '' Saturday Night Live'' from 1977 to 1980, where he received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He starred in comedy films including ''Meatballs'' (1979), ''Caddyshack'' (1980), '' Stripes'' (1981), ''Tootsie'' (1982), '' Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Scrooged'' (1988), ''What About Bob?'' (1991), ''Groundhog Day'' (1993), '' Kingpin'' (1996), ''The Man Who Knew Too Little'' (1997), ''Charlie's Angels'' (2000), and '' Osmosis Jones'' (2001). His only directorial credit is '' Quick Change'' (1990), which he co-directed with Howard Franklin. Murray's performance in Sofia Coppola's '' Lost in Translation'' (2003) earned him a Golden Globe and a British Academy Film Award and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He has frequen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and ''An Idiot Abroad'' (2010–2012). He also created, wrote and starred in '' Derek'' (2012–2014), and '' After Life'' (2019–2022). He has won seven BAFTA Awards, five British Comedy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the Rose d'Or twice (2006 and 2019). Gervais was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest performers in British comedy in 2003. In 2007, he was placed at No. 11 on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and at No. 3 in their 2010 list. In 2010, he was included in the ''Time 100'' list of World's Most Influential People. Gervais initially worked in the music industry. He attempted a career as a pop star in the 1980s as the singer of the new-wave act Seona Dancing, and managed the then-unknown band ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
Benjamin Richard "Yahtzee" Croshaw (born 24 May 1983) is a British comedic writer, author, video game journalist, humorist, podcaster, and video game developer. He is best known for his video game review series ''Zero Punctuation'', which he produces for '' The Escapist''. Before this, Croshaw gained attention in the Adventure Game Studio community for his video game production. He is involved in multiple other video series and podcasts for ''The Escapist''. Croshaw has published five novels through Dark Horse Comics: ''Mogworld'', published August 2010, ''Jam'', (October 2012), ''Will Save the Galaxy for Food'' (February 2017), ''Differently Morphous'' (March 2019) and ''Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash'' (September 2019). A sixth novel, ''Existentially Challenged'' (December 2021), has been published as an audiobook. Starting from ''Differently Morphous,'' Croshaw's books were released as Audible exclusives first as audiobooks, with other formats releasing later on. Croshaw a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bea Arthur
Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work on television beginning in the 1970s as Maude Findlay in the popular sitcoms ''All in the Family'' (1971–1972) and '' Maude'' (1972–1978) and later in the 1980s and 1990s as Dorothy Zbornak on ''The Golden Girls'' (1985–1992). Arthur won several accolades throughout her career, beginning with the 1966 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for playing Vera Charles in ''Mame''. She won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1977 for ''Maude'' and 1988 for ''The Golden Girls''. Arthur has received the third most nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series with nine; only Julia Louis-Dreyfus (11) and Mary Tyler Moore ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
