THE SNARK HANDBOOK
A Reference Guide To Verbal Sparring
Lawrence Dorfam

Hardie Grant Publishing  - $22.99

What an absolute gem. Everyone interested in words and language and certainly all collectors of quotes must own this book. Attractively presented as a smallish handbook this fun book had me in absolute stitches. Such fun.

As Lawrence Dorfman says in his Preface, Lewis Carroll claimed that snark was a mashing together of the words snail and shark........others have put forth a theory that the word is a combination of snide and remark....But snark os so much more. But I prefer one of his other definitions - a smartass remark.

Here are a few of my favouritesnarky repsonses to cliches:

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise - And a major goddamn bore.
The best thing since sliced bread - What was the best thing before sliced bread?
It's neither here nor there - So where thhell is it?

And some quotes:

Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes. Lewis Grizzard

She plunged into a sea of platitudes, and with the powerful  breaststroke of a channel swimmer, made her confideent way towards the white cliffs of the obvious.  W.Somerset Maugham.

Television: A medium. So called because it is neither rare nor well done.  David Letterman

Never judge a book by its movie.  J.W.Egan