[Ads-l] Quote: Punning is a talent which no man affects to despise, but he that is without it. (Attributed to Jonathan Swift)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Concert pianist and comedian Oscar Levant has received credit for a
humorous comment about puns. I was sent a request to investigate this
topic, and the exploration uncovered a family of related sayings which
discuss the art of creating puns.

Below is an overview with dates:

1755: He greatly excelled in punning; a talent, which, he said, no man
affected to despise, but those that were without it. (Comment about
Jonathan Swift)

1764: Punning is a talent which no man affects to despise, but he that
is without it. (Attributed to Jonathan Swift)

1807: Puns are disliked by none but those who can’t make them.
(Attributed to Jonathan Swift)

1845: Of puns it has been said that those most dislike who are least
able to utter them. (Written by Edgar Alan Poe)

1941: There must be one in every family . . . who thinks a pun is the
lowest form of wit because he didn’t think of it first. (Written Mary
Livingstone)

1945: The pun is the lowest form of humor--when you don’t think of it
first. (Attributed to Oscar Levant)

Details are given in the Quote Investigator article here:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/12/17/punning-talent/

Feedback welcome
Garson

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