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Humour in Memoriam p1

simon — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 08:24:34 +0000

READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from interesting out of print books. Humor in Memoriam by George Mikes is a 116-page hardback, published in London in 1970.

George Mikes (1912-1987) was a Hungarian-British journalist and humorist. Humor in Memorium is full of theories about different aspects of humour. Plus there are a lot of good jokes to illustrate points.

Here are a couple of points he made: The author said that there were no situations that were either comic or tragic. It all depended on the characters and how they reacted to an event.

He writes: I do not say that it is legitimate to joke about any subject under the sun at any place and at any time, but I do say that only the time and place are the decisive factors here, not the subject.

He quotes James Thurber: The things we laugh at are awful, while they are going on, but get funny when we look back… Humour is a kind of emotional chaos told about calmly and quietly in retrospect.

And Mr Mikes writes about political jokes. He said: Under political tyranny, (under Nazi, or Communist, oppression) political jokes assume an added significance… The jokes help to undermine the tyrant’s authority and cut him down to human level – or to sub-human level where he often belongs – and reassure both the purveyor and the audience of the joke.

But he also said: a sense of humour always contains an element of self-denigration, acceptance of one’s own weakness. To see your own foibles, silliness, weakness, vanity, erratic nature and be genuinely amused by them is the true test of a sense of humour. The man who can only laugh at things, events, situations and other people had no sense of humour.

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Humour in Memoriam p2

simon — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 08:15:55 +0000

Mr Mikes gives many theories about Jewish humor, which he argues is the basis for the U.S. humour…

He writes: Theodor Reik quotes the story of the Jewish nurse. She has spent the night with a very sick patient and when the doctor arrives in the morning, he enquires how his patient is. The nurse replies: ‘Oh, he was sick all night, kept calling me… he wanted this and that… God, what a horrible night I had…” This story is supposed to reflect self-centredness… I only see it as the usual, disarming Jewish self-criticism: our nurses care more for themselves than for their charges – but who doesn’t?

Mr Mikes gives examples of Jewish jokes that made fun of death, including funeral jokes. He writes: It is Mrs Levy’s funeral, and Levy is found in the maid’s room, making love to her. The outraged relative who has found him exclaims:

‘Today of all days!’

Levy replies:

‘Good gracious! In my great sorrow I don’t know what I am doing.’

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Humour in Memoriam p3

simon — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 08:02:24 +0000

The author talks of the difference between the clown and the humorist. The clown tries to shine and keeps failing…

He writes: Remember Grock – one of the great clowns. He’d come on stage where his assistant – a well-dressed and well-behaved young man – was performing on the violin. Grock was huge, impressive, authoritative. He carried a vast suitcase of enormous proportions. He looked round sternly and pushed the young artist aside, opened his vast case — and carefully brought out the tiniest of violins. Loud laughter – authority deflated is always the best of jokes.

[Another of Grock’s gags is where he sits on a stool in front of a piano. The piano is too far away to play. But instead of moving the stool closer to the piano, he drags the piano closer to him.]

The author writes: But whether Grock was playing on his tiny violin, falling over backwards on the rebellious stool, or sliding down on the wooden keyboard cover (which he took out and leaned against the piano), we always loved him. He was not a stern, imperious father; he was our dear, silly Daddy. We were delighted to see him meet one misfortune after another and he entertained us sadly: he was resigned to his failures but he would have preferred to shine and to dazzle us, his audience, his children.

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Humour in Memoriam p4

simon — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 07:59:19 +0000

Unlike the clown, the humourist refuses to see the darker side of life but suspects – or knows — that his picture is far removed from reality…

Mr Mikes writes: The humorist, on the other hand, is not a father-figure but a child himself – and a rather spoilt child at that. He knows of the miseries of the world but refuses to accept the facts that stare him in the face. He, as I have already said, is Peter Pan who resolutely refuses to grow up… Mother used to protect him and those were the happy times… He is determined to see the world as a comfortable, rosy place, although at the bottom of his heart, he knows only too well that this conception is not quite accurate. Misery, danger, humiliation, failure do not exist for him; the world is a pleasant place and however dark something may look at the moment, all will turn out well. The humorist is a kind and jovial man, his world is a happy one; but he is far removed from reality and he knows that his picture is a distorted one…

–see Humour in Memoriam by George Mikes, 116 pages, published by Routledge and Kegan Paul, in association with Andre Deutsch, 1970.

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Joey Adams p1

simon — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 22:23:18 +0000

READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from interesting out of print books. This issue features a 1955 book by Joey Adams entitled Strictly for Laughs, published by Frderick Fell, Inc, New York. Joey Adams (1911-1999) was a comedian, vaudevillian, radio host, nightclub performer, author and tv show presenter. His wife Cindy Adams, whom he married in 1952, still occasionally writes a column for the New York Post.

Here are some anecdotes from Strictly for Laughs. It features a lot of good rapid-fire jokes in the 1950s style.

Mr Adams writes: Jack Pearl, Showbusiness’ famed Baron Munchausen, swears this happened: This Brooklyn theatre manager was always bragging about his education and always thought he was too good for the neighbourhood. One day he received a picture entitled “The Optimist.” He called his staff together and said haughtily, “We’ve got to change this title to something easier. We are intelligent and know what an optimist is, but the morons who come to see the picture… will they know it’s an eye doctor?”

And: The passenger was screaming at the porter from his upper berth. “These shoes you returned don’t match!”

“That’s funny,” puzzled the porter. “You’re the second person this morning who made the same complaint.”

And: Columnist Miss Marie Torre confided this tale: The actor was talking about his home being filled with his wife’s relatives. “My house looks so much like a hotel,” he cried, “last night I caught myself stealing my own towels.”

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Joey Adams p2

simon — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 22:19:40 +0000

Joey Adams writes about how to test a good comedian…

He writes: Any comic worth his weight in laughs must have a joke file that he carries with him in the back of his funny bone at all times, ready for an emergency. Like in case he shoud bump into an audience… or a table full of laughers … or a solitary listener. If you want to test a good comedian, do the alphabet bit. Mention any letter from A to Z and see if he can come up with a good joke or gag for every subject.

He said that his favorite comedians were Morey Amsterdam, Milton Berle and Henny Youngman. He writes: One night we were sitting around the famous eatery of the stars, Danny’s Hideaway in New York, with our backs toward the check. We were playing our favorite game trying to tell a joke that the other three couldn’t finish. Loser to pay the check. The least funny joke to pay the tip. Danny was the judge. We started with the alphabet, A to Z.

They went through the alphabet cracking jokes for each letter. Here are some jokes they came up with.

Adams: A is for arrest. The judge was trying a case concerning some dice players. “Will all the crapshooters step to the bar?” he said. Six men stepped forward when only five were involved. “What are you doing here?” the judge asked the sixth man. “What’s the matter?” said the man. “Ain’t my money good?”

Amsterdam: P is for pants. Some tailor is making suits out of awning material. There’s only one thing wrong with it. When the sun goes down the pants roll up…

Youngman: D is for Drunk. The judge was reprimanding the souse. “You’ve been brought here for drinking.” “Okay,” said the sot, “lesh get started!”

Berle: P is for Pigeon. I had a carrier pigeon who showed up five hours late. I asked him, “What happened? He said, “Nothing – it was so nice out, I decided to walk.”

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Joey Adams p3

simon — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 22:16:14 +0000

Dumb jokes will always be popular because they make the reader feel superior, wrote Joey Adams…

Mr Adams devotes a chapter to dumb jokes with examples like these: He saw a moose head hanging on the wall. He asked the host, “Can I go into the next room and see the rest of it?”

And: The farmer ordered a prefabricated house and after using it for a week, he wrote the company a letter: This dern new-fangled hosue you done sent me ain’t no good. In fact, it’s plumb lousy. I think mebbe I put it up wrong. Leastways, everytime I step out the front door, I fall off the roof!

And: Which reminds me of the Sam Levenson story about the woman who confessed to the psychiatrist that her husband blew smoke rings during the day. The psychiatrist said, “Lots of men do that.”

“But,” said the woman, “my husband doesn’t smoke.”

And another dumb joke: “Whats’ that you have in your hand?”asked Taffy of her roommate.

“It’s a sleeping pill,” was the answer.

“Well, don’t wake it up!”

Finally: “I was so surprised when I heard it,” he screamed, “I couldn’t believe my eyes!”

Mr Adams concludes: So, you don’t have to be smart to amount to anything in this world – you can always inherit it!

-See Strictly for Laughs by Joey Adams. His other books include The Borscht Belt; Gags to Riches; How to Make and Tell Jokes for All Occasions; and Cindy and I.

Scottish Life and Character by Dean Ramsay p1

simon — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 04:35:27 +0000

READERSVOICE.COM aims to give a few samples from interesting out of print books. At first glance, an old hardback called Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character might not jump out as being potentially entertaining. But the book has many short, humorous anecdotes. While not all of them are hilarious now, they are all well structured and worth emulation by budding humor writers. The author was a clergyman, Dean Ramsay (Edward Bannerman Ramsay, 1793-1872). The hardback to hand was the 26th edition, printed in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Even though Dean Ramsay packs the book with humorous anecdotes, he insisted that the book wasn’t just another joke collection. He said its main aim was to illustrate the many aspects of the Scottish character. For e.g., anecdotes show the Scottish practical nature; or their cool, matter of fact view of things; or a reluctance to give a categorical opinion on things; their caution or wariness; loyalty to their old country when overseas. Or their wit.

Here is one example. He writes: But of all the cautious and careful answers we ever heard of was one given by a carpenter to an old lady in Glasgow, for whom he was working, and the anecdote is well authenticated. She had offered him a dram, [a small drink of alcohol] and asked him whether he would have it then or wait till his work was done. – “Indeed, mem,” he said, “there’s been sic a power o’ sudden deaths lately that I’ll just tak it now.” He would guard against contingency and secure his dram.

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Scottish Life and Character by Dean Ramsay p2

simon — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 04:30:30 +0000

How some jokes work in traditional Scottish anecdotes…

The author describes the mechanical aspects of some jokes. The joke might be “the odd and unexpected view which is taken of some matter”.

He writes: A junior minister having to assist at a church in a remote part of Aberdeenshire, the parochial minister (one of the old school) promised his young friend a good glass of whisky-toddy after all was over, adding slily and very significantly, “and gude smuggled whiskey.” His Southern guest thought it incumbent to say, “Hah, Minister, that’s wrong, is it not? You know it is contrary to Act of Parliament.” The old Aberdonian could not so easily give up his fine whisky to what he considered an unjust interference so he quietly said, “Oh, Acts o’ Parliament lose their breath before they get to Aberdeenshire.”

He said the anecdote illustrated “how deeply long tried associations were mixed up with the habits of life in the older generation”.

Or anecdotes might use the “dry application of the terms in a sense different from what was intended by the speaker”. He gives as an example the innocent and unsophisticated answers of children: An elder of the kirk [church] having found a little boy and his sister playing marbles on Sunday, put his reproof in this form, not a judicious one for a child: “Boy, do ye know where children go to who play marbles on Sabbath-day?’ “Ay,” said the boy, “they gang doun’ to the field by the water below the brig.”

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Old Scottish jokes p3

simon — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 04:27:51 +0000

The author of Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character gives examples of mistake in humor…

He writes: A piper was plying his trade in the streets, and a strict elder of the kirk, desirous to remind him that it was a somewhat idle and profitless occupation, went up to him and proposed solemnly the first question of the Shorter Catechism, “What is the chief end of man?” The good piper, thinking only of his own business, and supposing that the question had reference to some pipe melody, innocently answered, “Na, I dinna ken the tune, but if ye’ll whistle it I’ll try and play if for ye.”

The author gave another example of mistake. He writes that a Scot was visiting London for the first time. He was staying at a hotel in Fleet Street, where many of the country coaches put up. On the following morning he saw such a crowd that he thought the people must have come from some “occasion” and must pass off in due time.

The author writes: Accordingly, a friend from Scotland found him standing in a doorway, as if waiting for some one. His countryman asked him what made him stand there. To which he replied – “Ou, I was just stan’ing till the kirk had scaled.” The ordinary appearance of his native borough made the crowd of Fleet Street suggest to him the idea of a church crowd passing out to their several homes, called in Scotland a “kirk scaling.”

Dean Ramsay gives another example of mistake in humor. He writes: On the question, “What was the pestilence that walketh in darkness”? being put to a class, a little boy answered, after consideration – “Ou, it’s just bugs.”

The author went on to comment that in Old English usage “bug” signified a spectre or anything that is frightful. He said a correspondent had since written to him and said that the boy’s mother might have read the boy a passage from an old Bible, for eg. Psalm 91: “So that thou shalt not need to be afrayed for any bugge by nyght, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day”. So maybe the boy’s answer hadn’t been so comical after all.

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-See Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character by Dean Ramsay, Published by Gall and Inglis, London and Edinburgh.