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If sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, what is the highest? Dr Willis Stone, London
Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.
Readers reply
Brevity. Yohdur
Terry and June. WithoutPurpose
Sarcasm … delivered deadpan, with warmth and a Yorkshire accent, can be the height of humour. 303Squadron
Innuendo is by far the lowest. Sarcasm done well is the backbone of much quality humour. Dunnster71
I refer you to Fawlty Towers. Sarcasm can be sublime. lotus123
The complete Wilde quote, to my reading, neatly flips the first part over: “Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, but the highest form of intelligence.” Ironic that only the first part is ever quoted. hogbenfL
Surely puns are the lowest. FitfulThistles
Don’t call me Shirley! TwirlipOfTheMists
Fish puns. FacelessBureaucrat0
They occasionally flounder, especially when they’ve got no sole. keithrickaby
Oh cod, I can’t believe I’m herring this. EnglishmanInDundee
Tall stories? Aireman
Those would fall flat, surely … AnAverageJoe
In Elizabethan times, the pun was considered the highest form of wit. Most humour is at someone else’s expense, whether it’s Tom and Jerry, mothers-in-law, Irishmen, etc. But puns are jokes that are not at anyone’s expense, other that at the expense of the English language. zanyhorse
Ronnie Corbett is the lowest form of wit. HepAthlete
The highest form of wit must be someone telling a joke at the top of Mount Everest. lazysingleton
I don’t think wit really travels well at high altitudes, to whit: have you heard about the butcher who risked everything and opened a shop on top of Mount Everest? The steaks couldn’t be any higher … CharlieFarley
Both the highest and indisputably the most divine type of wit is the migrating godwit. ThereisnoOwl
Shakespeare. “I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed” – The Taming of the Shrew. whitman100
An actual test was done of the humorous potential of various things in different cultures. It turns out that the only common denominator, funny in all cultures, is the fart. (This was genuinely published.) pol098
I’ve thought about this for a while but, I’m sorry I haven’t a clue. DT_CyberSec
As a Frankie Howerd fan, I’d go with camp. Oh, please yourselves. robkemp
Farts. Don’t believe me?
This Nicholas anon leet fle a fart,
As greet as it had been a thonder-dent,
That with the strook he was almoost yblent;
And he was redy with his iren hoot,
And Nicholas amydde the ers he smoot,
Of gooth the skyn an hande brede aboute,
The hoote kultour brende so his toute,
And for the smert he wende for to dye.
As he were wood, for wo he gan to crye,
“Help! Water! Water! Help for Goddes herte!”
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Miller’s Tale. DrFaustroll
The jokes that small children make up. They are always far more unexpected than anything us adults, who have lost so much spontaneity, can come up with. R2D2noisy
Real, honest true-life stories. My friend (who doesn’t hear too well) was told by his wife that their daughter was ill, so go out and buy flowers and a get-well card. He came back with flowers and a bakewell tart. louislouis1234
Probably something with a punchline in ancient Greek. jno50
Farce. Sometimes being a form of satire, but wittier and more sustained. It requires a deeper contemplation of the circumstances than the often unthought, off-the-shoulder satirical snap. A good farce can maintain the humour for a whole play or programme on the single theme, while satire is but a single shot wasted in a moment. buildertim
Replies to notes and queries. TinyTinyMouse
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