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“Men will confess to treason, murder, arson, false teeth, or a wig. How many of them will own up to a lack of humour?”
Frank Moore Colby (1865–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Frank Moore Colby, (1926) The Colby Essays, Vol. 1., "Satire and Teeth". Reported in Robert Andrews, The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, Columbia University Press. (1993) . p. 431.
“I'm very proud of being Jewish. It means I have a good work ethic, and you get Jewish humour and you're allowed to tell Jewish jokes.”
Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Guardian interview, Saturday 4 July 2009
“Comedic actors can be looked at as a lower form because we have to put ourselves in a lower place than most of the audience. I think lofty emotions are somehow considered more special. The best stories in the world to me are the ones that elicit a real emotion, but have humour.”
Jim Carrey (born 1962) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in This much I know: Jim Carrey, actor, 46, Los Angeles by Tony Horkins in The Observer (19 October 2008)
“Good humour is the only shield to keep off the darts of the satirical railer: if you have a quiver well stored, and are sure of hitting him between the joints of the harness, do not spare him; but you had better not bend your bow than miss your aim.”
James Burgh (1714–1775) said by 1775 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Truly … as accidental as my Life may be, or as that random Humour is, which governs it; I know nothing, after all, so real or substantial as My-Self. Therefore if there be that Thing you call a Substance, I take for granted I am one. But for anything further relating to this Question, you know my Sceptick Principles: I determine neither way.”
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (1671–1713) said by 1713 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing is more curious than the almost savage hostility that Humour excites in those who lack it.”
George Saintsbury (1845–1933) said by 1933 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think humour can be a very lethal weapon.You make somebody a laughing stock and you kill him. But most journalists don't do it. They get angry, which doesn't serve the purpose.”
Khushwant Singh (1915–2014) said by 2014 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The holiday humour that ought to have prevailed in the tent that evening — our first on the plateau — did not make its appearance; there was depression and sadness in the air - we had grown so fond of our dogs.”
Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mr. Burke's book [Reflections on the Revolution in France] is very entertaining, and, what is better, contains much truth and sound political reflection, though sometimes dressed in a fantastic mode of expression. I hope the innovating humour will decline among us, and that men will be satisfied in being happy after the old way.”
Richard Hurd (bishop) first seen 1790 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Bishop Butler (30 December 1790), quoted in Francis Kilvert, Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Right Rev. Richard Hurd, D. D., Lord Bishop of Worcester; With a Selection From His Correspondence and Other…
“And nothing inhibited fourth-century orators in the assembly and the law-courts from indulging in savage slander, without a touch of humour in it.”
Moses I. Finley (1912–1986) said by 1986 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lord Illingworth: Women have become too brilliant. Nothing spoils a romance so much as a sense of humour in the woman. Mrs. Allonby: Or the want of it in the man.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We are specially designed to appeal to the sense of humour.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Hegel once observed that comedy is in act superior to tragedy and humourous reasoning superior to grandiloquent reasoning. Although Lincoln does not possess the grandiloquence of historical action, as an average man of the people he has its humour.”
Karl Marx (1818–1883) said by 1883 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This singularity of his humour made him much observed.”
Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) said by 1784 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“'I'm afraid I'm a practical man,' said the doctor with gruff humour, 'and I don't bother much about religion and philosophy.' 'You'll never be a practical man till you do,' said Father Brown. 'Look here, doctor; you know me pretty well; I think you know I'm not a bigot. You know I know there are all sorts in all religions; good men in bad ones and bad men in good ones.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My next shall be a more sober & chastised Epistle — but you see I was in the humour for metaphors — and to tell thee the Truth, I have so often serious reasons to quarrel with my Inclination, that I do not chuse to contradict it for Trifles.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) first seen 1794 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Robert Southey (6 July 1794)
“Humour is consistent with pathos, whilst wit is not.”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) first seen 1821 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to a friend (c. 1821); ed. Allsop (1836), vol. 1, p. 137
“Cynicism is humour in ill health.”
H. G. Wells (1866–1946) first seen 1915 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Boon, The Mind of the Race, The Wild Asses of the Devil, and The Last Trump (1915)
“I am a little shy of any assumption of moral indignation. There is always in it an element of self-satisfaction which makes it awkward to anyone who has a sense of humour.”
W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are men whose sense of humour is so ill developed that they still bear a grudge against Copernicus because he dethroned them from the central position in the universe. They feel it a personal affront that they can no longer consider themselves the pivot upon which turns the whole of created things.”
W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) first seen 1901 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 1901", p. 66
“Humour is the first of the gifts to perish in a foreign tongue.”
Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) said by 1941 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“His wicked sense of humour suggests exciting sex His fingers focus on her Her touches He's Venus as a boy”
“This I think is sufficiently evident, that children generally hate to be idle. All the care then is, that their busy humour should be constantly employ'd in something of use to them; which, if you will attain, you must make what you would have them do a recreation to them, and not a business.”
John Locke (1632–1704) said by 1704 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A person of the right sort is one who has a solid grasp and realistic apprehension of people and things as they are, an irresistible inclination to transfigure them according to his imagination, and an inexhaustible supply of philosophic humour.”
Alfred Austin (1835–1913) said by 1913 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A sense of humour is a sense of proportion.”
Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931) said by 1931 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People, particularly over-moralistic Americans, have often seen me as a pessimist and humourless to boot, yet I think I have an almost maniacal sense of humour. The problem is that it's rather deadpan.”
J. G. Ballard (1930–2009) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Age of unreason" by Jeannette Baxter in The Guardian (22 June 2004)
“It is a defect of God's humour that he directs our hearts everywhere but to those who have a right to them.”
Tom Stoppard (1937–2025) said by 2025 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Complementary to his is Thurber's remark that "humour is a kind of emotional chaos, told about quietly and calmly in retrospect". Emotional chaos is not pleasant; distillation of that chaos afterward may perhaps be pleasant in some of its aspects, and undoubtedly gives pleasure to others.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The search for the sense of humour is as fruitless and as enduring as the hunt for the unicorn; the really wise man knows that the unicorn, being no reality but a life-enhancing myth, must never be hunted, and may only be glimpsed by the well-disposed and the lucky; it cannot be captured, and it is encountered only by indirection.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Humour very often consists of shrewd perceptions about people. It's usually fun at someone's expense. Nowadays if you're funny at anybody's expense they run to the UN and say, "I must have an ombudsman to protect me." You hardly dare have a shrewd perception about anybody.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The people who fear humour — and they are many — are suspicious of its power to present things in unexpected lights, to question received opinions and to suggest unforeseen possibilities.”
Robertson Davies (1913–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You sharpen your ideas by reducing yourself to the level of the people you are with and a sense of humour and a complete relaxation, even when you’re discussing serious things, does help to mobilise friends around you. And I love that.”
Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Nelson Mandela on humour, From an interview with Tim Couzens, Verne Harris and Mac Maharay for Mandela: The Authorized Portrait, 2006 (13 August 2005). Source: From Nelson Mandela By Himself: The Authorised Book of Quot…
“Poor David Hume is dying very fast, but with great cheerfulness and good humour and with more real resignation to the necessary course of things then any whining Christian ever dyed with pretended resignation to the will of God.”
Adam Smith (1723–1790) first seen 1776 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Alexander Wedderburn 14 August 1776. The Correspondence of Adam Smith edited by E.C. Mossner and Ian Simpson Ross, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press 1986. The Future Hope in Adam Smith’s System, Paul Osling…
“Humour is an affirmation of dignity, a declaration of man's superiority to all that befalls him.”
Romain Gary (1914–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Harper Book of Quotations (1993) by Robert I. Fitzhenry, p. 223
“I am glad to find Mr. Montague's motion has been rejected, as it will keep many worthy men in good humour; besides, the abolition of the day would not be very delicate.”
George III (1738–1820) first seen 1768 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Lord North on Frederick Montagu's Bill to repeal the annual observance of the execution of Charles I (2 March 1772), quoted in The Correspondence of King George the Third with Lord North, From 1768 to 1783, Vo…
“I'm possessed by love — but isn't everybody? Most of my songs are love ballads and things to do with sadness and torture and pain. In terms of love, you're not in control and I hate that feeling. I seem to write a lot of sad songs because I'm a very tragic person. But there's always an element of humour at the end.”
Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "I am the Champion" by Nick Ferrari in The Sun (19 July 1985).
“Basically, the Germans came to us and said, "We don't have a sense of humour.”
Eric Idle (born 1943) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Answering the question "Why did you do two episodes in German?" on an HBO (March 1998) Python reunion special.
“When he was wounded with an arrow in the ankle, and many ran to him that were wont to call him a god, he said smiling, "That is blood, as you see, and not, as Homer saith, ‘such humour as distils from blessed gods.'”
Plutarch (40–120) said by 120 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Three blind mice walk into a pub. But they are unaware of their surroundings, so to derive humour from it would be exploitative.”
Bill Bailey (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have never understood why it should be considered derogatory to the Creator to suppose that he has a sense of humour.”
William Ralph Inge (1860–1954) first seen 1922 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Confessio Fidei", Outspoken Essays (Second Series) (1922)
“The Avatar draws upon Himself the universal suffering, but He is sustained under the stupendous burden by His Infinite Bliss and His infinite sense of humour. The Avatar is the Axis or Pivot of the universe, the Pin of the grinding-stones of evolution, and so has a responsibility towards everyone and everything.”
Meher Baba (1894–1969) said by 1969 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“He viewed humour as a relaxing introduction to many situations. "It is, of course, completely inappropriate in some... but in the end, you know, if you were serious in this job you'd go mad.”
David Lange (1942–2005) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Source: Gliding on the Lino - The Wit of David Lange, compiled by David Barber, 1987.
“[W]ithout humour you cannot run a sweetie-shop, let alone a nation.”
John Buchan (1875–1940) said by 1940 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Good humour may be said to be one of the very best articles of dress one can wear in society.”
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) said by 1863 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One tires of a page of which every sentence sparkles with points, of a sentimentalist who is always pumping the tears from his eyes or your own. One suspects the genuineness of the tear, the naturalness of the humour.”
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) said by 1863 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Humour is the mistress of tears; she knows the way to the fons lachrymarum, strikes in dry and rugged places with her enchanting wand, and bids the fountain gush and sparkle. She has refreshed myriads more from her natural springs, than ever tragedy has watered from her pompous old urn.”
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863) said by 1863 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Poverty can curdle the libido and corrode civilized thoughts. One's sense of humour vanishes, to be replaced by a curry-spoiling sarcasm as one's Mr Hyde emerges from the swamp of the subconscious.”
“The whole nation hitherto has been void of wit and humour, and even incapable of relishing it.”
Horace Walpole (1717–1797) first seen 1778 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On Scotland, in a etter to Sir Horace Mann (1778); comparable to "It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding", by Sydney Smith, Lady Holland's Memoir, vol. i. p. 15.
“I never got away from the enigma of Coren's personality. For me he remains the most enigmatic man of his generation, because the sprawling palace of his attainments has so many rooms he has scarcely bothered to look into. He can fly planes, drive fast cars, dance accomplished jive, speak perfect German. But who is he? His writing never tells you, because its humour is a shield.”
Clive James (1939–2019) said by 2019 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Humour is by far the most significant activity of the human brain.”
Edward de Bono (1933–2021) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Daily Mail (London, 29 January 1990)