A good joke can lift the lowest spirits, enliven the dullest party, or be a welcome icebreaker at the start of a speech. But why is it so hard to find that key quip when you need it? Now anyone can have the best jokes at their fingertips with this comprehensive collection of the finest, funniest, most up-to-date gags, rib-ticklers, and silly one-liners ever. Organized by subject and containing side-splitters stolen from such wits as Groucho Marx, Orson Welles, Mark Twain, and P. J. O'Rourke, among many, many others, this volume assures those who use it that they will never again be at a loss for words that produce giggles galore.
So you've been asked to say a few words on the day. The problem is, we don't get much practice, do we? That's why this book will prove so useful to you. It will show you how to prepare and deliver a unique and memorable speech that you can be proud of. What's more, you'll enjoy it! CONTENTS: Finding a captivating opening and compelling close - turning listeners into participants - weaving quotations into your speech - saying it with humour - using your voice well - giving out the right non-verbal messages - having self-confidence and coping with nerves - fifty model speeches About the author John Bowden has over 20 years' experience as a professional trainer and senior lecturer in communication skills. He has written several books on speech making and is a member of the Comedy Writers' Association.
This book starts from three observations. First, the use of humour is a complex, puzzling, and idiosyncratically human form of behaviour (and hence is of scientific interest). Second, there is currently no theory of how humour works. Third, one useful step towards a theory of humour is to analyze humorous items in precise detail, in order to understand their mechanisms. The author begins by considering how to study jokes rigorously: the assumptions to make, the guidelines to follow and the pitfalls to avoid. A critique of other work on humour is also provided. This introduces some important concepts, and also demonstrates the lack of agreement about what a theory of humour should look like. The language devices used in various jokes, such as puns or humour based on misinterpretation, are analysed in detail. The central part of the book develops, and demonstrates, proposals for how best to analyze the workings of simple jokes. Finally, the author makes some general suggestions about the language devices that seem to be central to the construction of jokes. The Linguistic Analysis of Jokes will be invaluable for researchers and advanced students of humour research, linguistics and cognitive science.
Have you heard the one about the man who walked into a bar? (Ouch!)... Penguin Pocket Jokes is essential (and hilarious) reading for anyone searching for the perfect joke. Whether you want a snappy wisecrack or a longer rib-tickler when making a speech, this easy-to-use guide will provide the perfect witticism.
This book examines stereotypical traits of women as they are reflected in Anglo-American anti-proverbs, also known as proverb transformations, deliberate proverb innovations, alterations, parodies, variations, wisecracks, fractured proverbs, and proverb mutations. Through these sayings and witticisms the author delineates the image of women that these anti-proverbs reflect, her qualities, attributes and behavior. The book begins with an analysis of how women’s role in the family, their sexuality and traditional occupations are presented in proverbs, and presents an overview of the genre of the anti-proverb. The author then analyses how this image of women is transformed in anti-proverbs, sometimes subverting, but often reinforcing the sexist bias of the original. This engaging work will appeal to students and scholars of humour studies, paremiology, gender studies, cultural studies, folklore and sociolinguistics alike.
In recent years, social work academics and practitioners have highlighted the need to "re-claim" methodologies which unpack creativity and resourcefulness. In the bleakest of times many turn to humour to survive. Making a unique contribution to social work thought, this is the first book to focus exclusively on humour use in relation to social work. Over eight chapters Jordan covers a range of examples of social work humour, using examples from practice, fiction and research. He concludes that social work has a complex relationship with humour and that humour has an important role in social work as it enables social workers to hold contradictory views. It also allows society to manage its ambivalent and contradictory view of social work. Aimed at academics, students and social work professionals, this book explores social work’s sometimes uneasy relationship with humour. It will be of interest to anyone with an academic interest in humour.
How do the arts give us pleasure? Covering a very wide range of artistic works, from Auden to David Lynch, Rembrandt to Edward Weston, and Richard Strauss to Keith Jarrett, Butler offers us an explanation of our enjoyable emotional engagements with literature, music, and painting. Pleasurable in its own right, Pleasure and the Arts presents a sparkling explanation of the enduring interest of artistic expression. - ;How do the arts give us pleasure? Covering a very wide range of artistic works, from Auden to David Lynch, Rembrandt to Edward Weston, and Richard Strauss to Keith Jarrett, Pleasure.
"The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore is a comprehensive, highly readable, encyclopedic dictionary that will appeal to a broad range of students of American literature, history, and cultural studies as well as to general readers, from teenagers to centenarians, who wish to ramble down the highways and byways of our country's immensely varied folk traditions. With more than 750 entries and 228 photographs and line drawings, this is at once a stimulating companion and an authoritative reference to American folklore."--BOOK JACKET. "Entries range in length from brief definitions and descriptions of terms and objects, such as animal tale, autoharp, memory painting, and rabbit's foot, to essays, complete with lists of additional reading, on the principal American folklore genres, on the heroes of American folklore, and on the leading writers, poets, composers, musicians, dancers, painters, and other fashioners, transmitters, and scholars of folklore."--BOOK JACKET. "From The Alamo, alien abductions, and Gene Autry to Bigfoot, The Blues, and Buffalo Bill, to Yankee Doodle, Yiddishisms, and Zydeco (the name of the music comes from a Cajun song), it's all here - the folklore of different regions, groups, and occupations (Appalachian folklore, Italian American folklore, lumberjack folklore, military folklore, Native American folklore, urban legends); the singers and their songs (Joan Baez, Blue Tail Fly, Burl Ives, Frankie and Johnnie, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, Elvis Presley); the scholars and the collectors (Ruth Benedict, Richard Dorson, John and Alan Lomax, Louise Pound), and so much more - all in one absorbing, immensely valuable reference."--BOOK JACKET.
The key objective in this book is to provide tips and techniques to help you enhance your professional impact through your natural style as a presenter with ideas for creative approaches.
