Mad Libs is a

phrasal template A phrasal template is a phrase-long collocation that contains one or several empty slots which may be filled by words to produce individual phrases. Description A phrasal template is a phrase-long collocation that contains one or several empty s ...

word game Word games (also called word game puzzles or word search games) are spoken, board, or video games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties. Word games are generally used as a source of entertainment, but can ...

created by Leonard Stern and Roger Price. It consists of one player prompting others for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story before reading aloud. The game is frequently played as a

party game Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillian; ...

or as a pastime. The game was invented in the United States, and more than 110 million copies of ''Mad Libs'' books have been sold since the series was first published in 1958.

History

Mad Libs was invented in 1953 by Leonard Stern and Roger Price. Stern and Price created the game, but could not agree on a name for their invention. No name was chosen until five years later (1958), when Stern and Price were eating

Eggs Benedict Eggs Benedict is a common American breakfast or brunch dish, consisting of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. It was popularized in New York City. Origin and history There ...

at a restaurant in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. While eating, the two overheard an argument at a neighboring table between a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sp ...

and an actor. According to Price and Stern, during the overheard argument, the actor said that he wanted to "

ad-lib In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

" an upcoming

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

. The agent, who clearly disagreed with the actor's suggestion, retorted that ad-libbing an interview would be "mad". Stern and Price used that

eavesdrop Eavesdropping is the act of secretly or stealthily listening to the private conversation or communications of others without their consent in order to gather information. Etymology The verb ''eavesdrop'' is a back-formation from the noun ''eaves ...

ped conversation to create, at length, the name "Mad Libs". In 1958, the duo released the first book of ''Mad Libs'', which resembled the earlier games of

consequences Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

and exquisite corpse. Stern was head writer and comedy director for ''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' was an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,

'', and suggested to the show's host that guests be introduced using Mad Libs completed by the audience. Four days after an episode introduced "our guest NOUN, Bob Hope", bookstores sold out of ''Mad Libs'' books. Stern and Price next partnered with

Larry Sloan Lloyd Lawrence "Larry" Sloan (1922 – October 14, 2012) was an American publisher of Mad Libs and co-founder of the Los Angeles publishing company, Price Stern Sloan, which opened in the early 1960s. Biography Sloan was born Lloyd Lawrence Solom ...

, a high school friend who was working as a

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for a work such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists who ...

at the time, to continue publishing ''Mad Libs''. Together, the three founded the publishing firm Price Stern Sloan in the early 1960s as a way to release ''Mad Libs''. In addition to releasing more than 70 editions of ''Mad Libs'' under Sloan, the company also published 150 softcover books, including such notable titles as '' How to Be a Jewish Mother'', first released in 1964; ''

Droodles ''Droodles'' was a syndicated cartoon feature created by Roger Price and collected in his 1953 book ''Droodles'', though the term is now used more generally of similar visual riddles. Form The general form is minimal: a square box containing a ...

'', which was also created by Roger Price; ''The VIP Desk Diary''; and the series ''World's Worst Jokes''. Price died in 1990, and three years later, Sloan and Stern sold Price Stern Sloan, including ''Mad Libs'', to the former Putnam Berkley Group, which is now known as

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

. ''Mad Libs'' books are still published by

; however, all references to Price Stern Sloan have been removed from the company's official website. Stern died at age 88 on June 7, 2011, and Sloan on October 14, 2012. More than 110 million copies of ''Mad Libs'' have been sold since the game series was first published in 1958.

Predecessors of Mad Libs

It is unclear whether the creators of Mad Libs were aware of existing games and books similar to their own. One such game is ''Revelations about my Friends'', published anonymously by Fredrick A. Stokes Companies in New York in 1912. Like Mad Libs, the book invites the reader to choose words of different categories which then become part of a story. The nineteenth century parlor game "

Consequences Consequence may refer to: * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * In operant conditioning, a result of some behavior * Consequentialism, a theory in philosophy in which the morality of an act is determi ...

" and the surrealists' Exquisite Corpse game are also similar to Mad Libs.

Format

Mad Libs books contain

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

on each page with many key words replaced with blanks. Beneath each blank is specified a category, such as "

noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...

", "

verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...

", "place", "celebrity", "exclamation" or "part of the body". One player asks the other players, in turn, to contribute a word of the specified type for each blank, but without revealing the context for that word. Finally, the completed story is read aloud. The result is usually a sentence which is comical, surreal and/or takes on somewhat of a

nonsensical Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters h ...

tone. Stern and Price's original Mad Libs book gives the following sentence as an example: "___________! he said ________ as he jumped into his convertible ______ and drove off with his _________ wife." ''exclamation adverb noun adjective '' After completion, they demonstrate that the sentence might read: "Ouch! he said stupidly as he jumped into his convertible car and drove off with his brave wife."

Books

The following is a list of most Mad Libs books in alphabetical order: *70s Mad Libs *80s Mad Libs *90s Mad Libs *A Very Mad Libs Christmas *Ad Lib Mad Libs *Aggretsuko Mad Libs *All I Want for Christmas Is Mad Libs *

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

Mad Libs *Baby Shower Mad Libs *Barbie Mad Libs *Bee Movie Mad Libs *Best of Mad Libs *Birthday Party Mad Libs *Bob's Burgers Mad Libs *Bob's Burgers Grand Re-Opening Mad Libs *Camp Daze Mad Libs *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Mad Libs *Christmas Cards Mad Libs *Christmas Carol Mad Libs *Christmas Cheer Mad Libs *Christmas Fun Mad Libs *Club Penguin Mad Libs *Clue Mad Libs *Cool Mad Libs *County Fair Mad Libs *Crazy Crafting Mad Libs *Dance Mania Mad Libs *Day of the Dead Mad Libs *DC Comics Super Hero Mad Libs *Dear Valentine Letters Mad Libs *Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs *Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs: Second Helping *Dinosaur Mad Libs *Dinosaur Mad Libs Junior *Disney Princess Mad Libs *Diva Girl Mad Libs *Doctor Who Mad Libs *Dog Ate My Mad Libs *Don't Get Mad Libs, Get Even Funnier *Dude, Where's My Mad Libs *Dungeons & Dragons Mad Libs *Dysfunctional Family Therapy Mad Libs *Easter Basket Mad Libs *Easter Eggstravaganza Mad Libs *Eid al-Fitr Mad Libs *Election Day Mad Libs *Escape from Detention Mad Libs *Family Guy Mad Libs *Family Tree Mad Libs *

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled ''Now ...

Mad Libs *Fear Factor Mad Libs: Ultimate Grossout! *Field Trip Mad Libs *Finding Dory Mad Libs *First Day of School Mad Libs *Foo Fighters Mad Libs *Frozen Mad Libs *Game Over! Mad Libs *Gender Reveal Party Mad Libs *Give Me Liberty or Give Me Mad Libs *Go for the Gold! Mad Libs *Gobble Gobble Mad Libs *Godzilla Mad Libs *Goofy Mad Libs *Grab Bag Mad Libs *Graduation Mad Libs *Grand Slam Mad Libs *Gravity Falls Mad Libs *Halloween Party Mad Libs *Hanukkah Mad Libs *Happily Ever Mad Libs *Happy Birthday Mad Libs *Happy Diwali Mad Libs *Happy Housewarming Mad Libs *Happy Howl-o-ween Mad Libs *Happy Kwanzaa Mad Libs *Happy New Year Mad Libs *History of the World Mad Libs *Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Mad Libs! *Hold Your Horses Mad Libs *Holly, Jolly Mad Libs *Home from School Mad Libs *Hot Off the Presses Mad Libs *Hot Wheels Mad Libs *How to Train Your Dragon Mad Libs *I Love Seattle Mad Libs *Impractical Jokers Mad Libs *

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

Mad Libs *JoJo Siwa Mad Libs *Keep It Curious, George Mad Libs *Kid Libs Mad Libs *Kung Fu Panda Mad Libs *L.O.L. Surprise! Mad Libs *LEGO Mad Libs *LEGO Star Wars Mad Libs *Letters from Camp Mad Libs *Like Father, Like Mad Libs *Love the Earth Mad Libs *Luck of the Mad Libs *Lunar New Year Mad Libs *Mad About Animals Mad Libs *Mad About Mad Libs *Mad Libs 40th Anniversary Edition *Mad Libs 50th Anniversary Edition *Mad Libs for President *Mad Libs Forever *Mad Libs From Outer Space *Mad Libs in Love *Mad Libs Mania *Mad Libs on the Road *Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Libs *Mad Scientist Mad Libs *Mad, Madder, Maddest Mad Libs *Marvel's Avengers Mad Libs *Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Mad Libs *Marvel's Spider-Man Mad Libs *Masters of the Universe Mad Libs *Meow Libs *Merry Christmas! Love, Mad Libs *Merry Merry Mad Libs *Mickey Mouse Mad Libs *Minions Mad Libs *Mitzvah Mad Libs *Monopoly Mad Libs *Monster Mad Libs *Monster Mash Mad Libs *More Best of Mad Libs *Mother Knows Mad Libs *Much Ado About Mad Libs *Nickelodeon: Nick 90s Mad Libs *Night of the Living Mad Libs *Ninjas Mad Libs *Off-the-Wall Mad Libs *Olaf's Frozen Adventure Mad Libs *

Operation Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

Mad Libs *Over The Hedge Mad Libs *Parks and Recreation Mad Libs *Peace, Love, and Mad Libs *Penguin Classics Mad Libs *Pets-a-Palooza Mad Libs *Pirates Mad Libs *Pokémon Mad Libs *Presidential Mad Libs *Presidential Mad Libs *Pride Parade Mad Libs *Prime-Time Mad Libs *Rick and Morty Mad Libs *Roald Dahl: The Witches Mad Libs *Rock 'n' Roll Mad Libs *Scooby-Doo Mad Libs *Shark Attack! Mad Libs *Slam Dunk Mad Libs *Sleepover Party Mad Libs *

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

Mad Libs *Son of Mad Libs *Sooper Dooper Mad Libs *

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

Mad Libs *Spy Mad Libs *Star Trek Mad Libs *Star Wars Mad Libs *Star Wars Droids Mad Libs *Star Wars: The Clone Wars Mad Libs *Steven Universe Mad Libs *Stocking Stuffer Mad Libs *Straight "A" Mad Libs *Supersize Mad Libs *Teachers Rule! Mad Libs *The Amazing World of Gumball Mad Libs *The Big Bang Theory Mad Libs *The Incredibles Mad Libs *The Muppets Mad Libs *The Office Mad Libs *The Original #1 Mad Libs *The Penguins of Madagascar Mad Libs *

The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Telev ...

Mad Libs *The Wizard of Oz Mad Libs *The World of Roald Dahl Mad Libs *Totally Pink Mad Libs *Toy Story Mad Libs *Transformers BotBots Mad Libs *Travel Far and Mad Libs *Trick or Treat Mad Libs *Trolls Mad Libs *Undead Mad Libs *Unicorns, Mermaids, and Mad Libs *Unidentified Flying Mad Libs *Upside Down Mad Libs *Vacation Fun Mad Libs *Valentine's Day Mad Libs *Who Was? Mad Libs *Winter Games Mad Libs *Wonder Woman Mad Libs * WWE Mad Libs *You've Got Mad Libs

Other media

A game show called ''Mad Libs'', with some connections to the game, aired on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

in 1998 and 1999. Several imitations of Mad Libs have been created, most of them on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

. Imitation Mad Libs are sometimes used in educational settings to help teach kids the

parts of speech In grammar, a part of speech or part-of-speech (abbreviated as POS or PoS, also known as word class or grammatical category) is a category of words (or, more generally, of lexical items) that have similar grammatical properties. Words that are as ...

Looney Labs Looney Labs, Inc. is a small game company based in College Park, Maryland, United States. It is named after its founders, Andrew Looney and Kristin Looney, and is best known for creating the Fluxx line of card games. The company has three U.S. pat ...

released ''Mad Libs: The Game'', a card game, in 2016. There is also a Mad Libs mobile app.

References

{{reflist

External links

madlibs.com
Word games Book series introduced in 1958 Random text generation Comedy books