A Base Joke
A GENTLEMAN one day observed to Henry Erskine, that punning was the
lowest of wit. It is, answered Erskine, and therefore the
foundation of all wit.
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A Bad Example
A CERTAIN noble lord being in his early years much addicted to dissipation, his mother advised him to take example by a gentleman, whose food was herbs and his drink water. What! madam, said he, would you have me to imitate a man who eats like a bea... A Bad Harvest
THERE was much sound palpable argument in the speech of a country lad to an idler, who boasted his ancient family: So much the worse for you, said the peasant; as we ploughmen say, 'the older the seed the worse the crop.' ... A Bad Judge
UPON the occasion of the birth of the Princess Royal, the Duke of Wellington was in the act of leaving Buckingham Palace, when he met Lord Hill; in answer to whose inquiries about Her Majesty and the little stranger, his grace replied, Very fine chi... A Bad Label
TOM bought a gallon of gin to take home; and, by way of a label, wrote his name upon a card, which happened to be the seven of clubs, and tied it to the handle. A friend coming along, and observing the jug, quietly remarked: That's an awful careless... A Bad Lot
THE household furniture of an English barrister, then recently deceased, was being sold, in a country town, when one neighbor remarked to another that the stock of goods and chattels appeared to be extremely scanty, considering the rank of the lawye... A Bad Medium
A MAN, who pretended to have seen a ghost, was asked what the ghost said to him? How should I understand, replied the narrator, what he said? I am not skilled in any of the dead languages. ... A Bad Pen
NATURE has written 'honest man' on his face, said a friend to Jerrold, speaking of a person in whom Jerrold's faith was not altogether blind. Humph! Jerrold replied, then the pen must have been a very bad one. ... A Bad Preacher
A CLERGYMAN, meeting a particular friend, asked him why he never came to hear him preach. He answered, I am afraid of disturbing your solitude. ... A Bad Shot
A COCKNEY being out one day amusing himself with shooting, happened to fire through a hedge, on the other side of which was a man standing. The shot passed through the man's hat, but missed the bird. Did you fire at me, sir? he hastily asked. O! no,... A Balance
PAY me that six-and-eightpence you owe me, Mr. Malrooney, said a village attorney. For what?--For the opinion you had of me.--Faith, I never had any opinion of you in all my life. ... A Banker's Check
ROGERS, when a certain M.P., in a review of his poems, said he wrote very well for a banker, wrote, in return, the following:-- They say he has no heart, and I deny it: He has a heart, and--gets his speeches by it. ... A Barber Shaved By A Lawyer
SIR, said a barber to an attorney who was passing his door, will you tell me if this is a good half-sovereign? The lawyer, pronouncing the piece good, deposited it in his pocket, adding, with gravity, If you'll send your lad to my office, I'll retur... A Base Joke
A GENTLEMAN one day observed to Henry Erskine, that punning was the lowest of wit. It is, answered Erskine, and therefore the foundation of all wit. ... A Base One
A FRIEND was one day reading to Jerrold an account of a case in which a person named Ure was reproached with having suddenly jilted a young lady to whom he was engaged. Ure seems to have turned out to be a base 'un, said Jerrold. ... A Bearable Pun
AN illiterate vendor of beer wrote over his door at Harrogate, Bear sold here.--He spells the word quite correctly, said Theodore Hook, if he means to apprise us that the article is his own Bruin. ... A Bed Ofwhere?
A SCOTCH country minister had been invited, with his wife, to dine and spend the night at the house of one of his lairds. Their host was very proud of one of the very large beds which had just come into fashion, and in the morning asked the lady how... A Bishop And Churchwarden
BISHOP WARBURTON, going to Cirencester to confirm, he was supplied at the altar with an elbow-chair and a cushion, which he did not much like, and calling to the churchwarden said, I suppose, sir, your fattest butcher has sat in this chair, and your... A Bit Of Moonshine
BROUGHAM, speaking of the salary attached to a new judgeship, said it was all moonshine. Lyndhurst, in his dry and waggish way, remarked, May be so, my Lord Harry; but I have a strong notion that, moonshine though it be, you would like to see the fi... A Black Joke
A GENTLEMAN at Limehouse observed the laborers at work in a tier of colliers, and wanting to learn the price of coals, hailed one of the men with, Well, Paddy, how are coals?--Black as ever, was the reply. ... A Book Case
THERE is a celebrated reply of Mr. Curran to a remark of Lord Clare, who curtly exclaimed at one of his legal positions, O! if that be law, Mr. Curran, I may burn my law-books!--Better read them, my lord, was the sarcastic and appropriate rejoinder.... A Bright Rejoinder
AN Englishman paying an Irish shoeblack with rudeness, the dirty urchin said, My honey, all the polish you have is upon your boots and I gave you that. ... A Broad Hint
CHARLES II. playing at tennis with a dean, who struck the ball well, the king said, That's a good stroke for a dean.--I'll give it the stroke of a bishop if your Majesty pleases, was the suggestive rejoinder. ... A Broad Hint
AN eminent barrister having a case sent to him for an opinion--the case being outrageously preposterous--replied, in answer to the question, Would an action lie?--Yes, if the witnesses would lie too, but not otherwise. ... A Broad-brim Hint
A QUAKER said to a gunner, Friend, I counsel no bloodshed; but if it be thy design to hit the little man in the blue jacket, point thine engine three inches lower. ...