There seems to be no lengths to which humorless people…

There seems to be no lengths to which humorless people will not go to analyze humor. It seems to worry them.

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“What Does It Mean?” in After 1903 — What? (1938)

Other Robert Benchley Quotes

Nine-tenths of the value of a sense of humor in writing is not in the things it makes one write but in the things it keeps one from writing. It is especially valuable in this respect in serious writing, and no one without a sense of humor should ever write seriously. For without knowing what is funny, one is constantly in danger of being funny without knowing it. - View Quote Details on Nine-tenths of the value of a sense of humor in…
I do most of my work sitting down; that’s where I shine. - View Quote Details on I do most of my work sitting down; that’s where…
Anyone will be glad to admit that he knows nothing about beagling, or the Chinese stock market, or ballistics, but there is not a man or woman alive who does not claim to know how to cure hiccoughs. - View Quote Details on Anyone will be glad to admit that he knows nothing…
The way to go to the circus, however, is with someone who has seen perhaps one theatrical performance before in his life and that in the High School hall…. The scales of sophistication are struck from your eyes and you see in the circus a gathering of men and women who are able to do things as a matter of course which you couldn’t do if your life depended on it. - View Quote Details on The way to go to the circus, however, is with…
A baby is shown sitting on the floor. He appears to be about a year and a half old. Incidentally, he is a very plain baby. Strewn about him on the floor are the toys that he has been playing with. There are a ball, a rattle, a ring, a doll, a bell and a pair of roller-skates. Evidently, the candidate is supposed to be aghast at the roller-skates in the possession of such a small child.
The man who drew that picture had evidently never furnished playthings for a small child. I can imagine nothing that would delight a child of a year and a half more than a pair of roller-skates to chew and spin and hit himself in the face with. They could also be dropped on Daddy when Daddy was lying on the floor in an attempt to be sociable. Of all the toys arranged before the child, the roller-skates are the most logical…. That is my great trouble in taking tests and examinations of any kind. I always want to argue with the examiner, because the examiner is always so obviously wrong. - View Quote Details on A baby is shown sitting on the floor. He appears…
There are two classes of travel — first class, and with children. - View Quote Details on There are two classes of travel — first class, and…
It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous. - View Quote Details on It took me fifteen years to discover that I had…
I am more the inspirational type of speller. I work on hunches rather than mere facts, and the result is sometimes open to criticism by purists. - View Quote Details on I am more the inspirational type of speller. I work…
So who’s in a hurry? - View Quote Details on So who’s in a hurry?
A great many people have come up to me and asked how I manage to get so much work done and still keep looking so dissipated. - View Quote Details on A great many people have come up to me and…