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Who doesn't love a funny insult? We're not talking about the serious trash-talk, but rather a clever and witty exchange of a (sometimes) humorous opinion. Bored Panda has compiled a list for you of 30 most clever, witty and savage comebacks and insults as told by famous people.
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#1
Ilka Chase
American actress Ilka Chase was best known for her acting work, however, she traveled frequently and enjoyed writing about her experiences, which would later turn into novels. When an anonymous actress told Ilka "I enjoyed reading your book. Who wrote it for you?", Chase was quick to deliver the best comeback: "Darling, I'm so glad that you liked it. Who read it to you?"
unknown Report
Final score:
309points
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Kaisu Kaisu Community Member Follow
Yessss you go Ilka
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#2
Edna Ferber to Noël Coward
Edna Ferber, an American writer, was known to be fond of wearing tailored suits long before they were in fashion. Coward (an English playwright, composer, director, famous actor, and singer) was remarking upon the fact that his friend Ferber was wearing one:
Coward: You look almost like a man.
Ferber: So do you.
Allan Warren Report
Final score:
226points
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Bored Lazy Lizzy Bored Lazy Lizzy Community Member Follow
Burn!
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#3
Mozart
Rumor has it that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musical genius and influential composer of the classical era, was a huge fan of scatological humor as well as practical jokes. It is safe to say that humorous exchanges were no stranger to this famous person. One of such exchanges with an admirer is rather brutal, if you ask us:
Admirer: Herr Mozart, I am thinking of writing symphonies. Can you give me any suggestions as to how to get started?
Mozart: A symphony is a very complex musical form. Perhaps you should begin with some simple lieder and work your way up to a symphony.
Admirer: But Herr Mozart, you were writing symphonies when you were 8 years old.
Mozart: Yes, but I never asked anybody how.
Barbara Krafft Report
Final score:
211points
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FortnitePlayerGirl FortnitePlayerGirl Community Member Follow
Whoah. Way to go, man.
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#4
Mahatma Gandhi
The famous Indian pacifist didn't hold back when asked "What do you think of Western civilization?":
"I think it would be a good idea."
Elliott & Fry Report
Final score:
195points
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FortnitePlayerGirl FortnitePlayerGirl Community Member Follow
Gahndi: 1 US: 0
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#5
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American writer known for her quick-wittiness. After a drunk man commented "I can't bear fools," Parker responded:
"Apparently, your mother could..."
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Final score:
190points
Neringa Utaraitė
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Bored Lazy Lizzy Bored Lazy Lizzy Community Member Follow
Oldest yo mama joke ever recorded, colorized
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#6
Winston Churchill to a member of parliament
A British politician Winston Churchill was probably one of the most quick-witted and smartest people whose sharp tongue produced epic one-liners that stood the test of time.
MP: Mr. Churchill, must you fall asleep while I'm speaking?
Churchill: No, it's purely voluntary.
unknown Report
Final score:
187points
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juice juice Community Member Follow
that man was a savage cabbage
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#7
Dorothy Parker to Harold Ross
Dorothy Parker was an American writer whose humorous punchlines and one-liners will probably never get old.
Parker was on her honeymoon when Harold Ross, an editor for New Yorker, asked her why she was late with a book review:
"I'm too [effing] busy, and vice versa."
Final score:
185points
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Schrödinger's Dog Schrödinger's Dog Community Member Follow
I love this one.
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#8
John Wilkes to John Montagu
John Wilkes (right) was a British radical, journalist, and politician who started off as a Member of Parliament. Montagu, on the other hand, was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather Edward Montagu, at the age of ten. Their famous exchange (or the savage response of John Wilkes, to be exact) has made history:
Montagu: Sir, I do not know whether you will die on the gallows or of the pox.
Wilkes: That will depend, my lord, on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress.
Richard Houston , Thomas Gainsborough Report
Final score:
171points
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Night Shade Night Shade Community Member Follow
Yikes that must’ve hurt
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#9
Truman Capote to an unknown man
Truman Capote was an American author best known for his work 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.
Anonymous man, after whipping out his private parts, asked the writer: "Since you're autographing things, why don't you autograph this?"
Capote: "I don't know if I can autograph it, but perhaps I can initial it."
Roger Higgins Report
Final score:
147points
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Schrödinger's Dog Schrödinger's Dog Community Member Follow
Very subtle.
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#10
Robert Surcouf to a British captive officer
Robert Surcouf was a French privateersman who amassed a large fortune as a ship-owner, from both privateering and commerce.
When a British captive officer challenged Surcouf with the words "You French fight for money while we fight for honour", Surcouf replied "Each of us fights for what he lacks most".
Joseph François Gabriel Report
Final score:
140points
Pamula Furness Pamula Furness Community Member Follow
Love this! Still as true today!
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#11
Winston Churchill to George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was a legendary Irish playwright who was on good terms with the British politician Winston Churchill.
One time, the two were exchanging letters and Shaw offered Churchill to come and see his play 'Buoyant Billions':
Shaw: Have reserved two tickets for opening night. Come and bring a friend, if you have one.
Churchill: Impossible to come to first night. Will come to second night, if you have one.
Yousouf Karsh , unknown Report
Final score:
132points
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Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch Community Member Follow
I love good burns between friends
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#12
Fritz Hollings to Henry McMaster
Probably one of the most famous burn of all burns, was the one delivered back in 1986. Fritz Hollings (right) was a democrat Senator from South Carolina from 1966 to 2005, while Mr. McMaster is a current Governor of South Carolina and a member of the Republican Party.
Hollings, when challenged by his Republican opponent Henry McMaster during a TV debate to take a drug test, proposed:
"I'll take a drug test, if you'll take an IQ test."
unknown , South Carolina State Government Report
Final score:
126points
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juice juice Community Member Follow
oof
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#13
Pierre Trudeau on Richard Nixon
Pierre Trudeau, a former Prime Minister of Canada and father of the country's current Prime Minister, kept his cool when he heard that US president Richard Nixon has called him an a**hole:
"I've been called worse things by better men."
Oliver F. Atkins Report
Final score:
122points
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FortnitePlayerGirl FortnitePlayerGirl Community Member Follow
🔥
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#14
Edward Everett Hale
Edward Everett Hale was an American author, historian, and Unitarian minister. The man had a deep interest in the anti-slavery movement as well as popular education.
One time, when asked whether he prayed for the US Senators, Hale responded: "No. I look at the Senators and pray for the country."
G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York Report
Final score:
121points
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Pamula Furness Pamula Furness Community Member Follow
Doing the same these days!
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#15
Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins, an American actress who was active from the 1920s to 1970s, was known to be way more than just a beautiful face framed by pretty blond hair. She was one of the few Hollywood figures who moved in intellectual and creative circles. When an anonymous singer bragged: "You know, my dear, I insured my voice for fifty thousand dollars." Hopkins cold-bloodedly responded: "That's wonderful. And what did you do with the money?"
unknown Report
Final score:
118points
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Kaisu Kaisu Community Member Follow
Wow savage
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#16
Ed Koch to a reporter
Ed Koch, a noted American lawyer, politician and political commentator, was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989 and was well known for his quips and one-liners.
After the reporter kept pressing Koch about a statement he had made, the politician lost his temper for a second:
"I can explain this to you; I can't comprehend it for you."
Bill Goladay Report
Final score:
108points
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Lena Hudson Lena Hudson Community Member Follow
I love this one. Reminds me of a similar diss: "I have neither the time nor the crayons to help you understand this"
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#17
Robert Benchley to a man in a uniform
Robert Benchley was an American humorist, who laid out the foundation for many modern-day comedians. No surprise, his funny exchange with a man in uniform has made history:
Benchley: My good man, would you please get me a taxi?
Uniformed man: I'm not a doorman. I happen to be a rear admiral in the United States Navy.
Benchley: All right then; get me a battleship.
American Stock Archive Report
Final score:
106points
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Grumble O'Pug Grumble O'Pug Community Member Follow
So underrated! Watch Hitchco*ck's Foreign Correspondent for a taste of that dry sublime delivery.
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#18
Pope John XXIII
John's XXIII papacy began in 1958 and ended in 1963. During these years, he was asked how many people work in the Vatican, to which the Pope responded:
"About half."
unknown Report
Final score:
100points
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sh sh Community Member Follow
Papacy - what a funny word.
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#19
Melville Fuller to an attendee to a church conference
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller was presiding at a church conference when an audience member rose and began a ranting against universities and education, saying that he gave thanks to God that he had never been corrupted by any contact with a college.
Fuller: Do I understand the speaker thanks God for his ignorance?
Audience member: Well, yes, if you want to put it that way.
Fuller: Then you have a great deal to be thankful for.
Theodore Christopher Marceau Report
Final score:
89points
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Layla Layla Community Member
History is proof that there's a direct correlation between the amount of people who consider ignorance a virtue and the speed at which the world goes to s**t.
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#20
John Kerry on George W. Bush
John Kerry, the Democratic nominee in the 2004 presidential election who lost to the republican George W. Bush, upon hearing that Bush fell off his bike during a ride:
"Did the training wheels fall off?"
Eric Draper , United States Department of State Report
Final score:
78points
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Nikki D Nikki D Community Member Follow
Hahaha I'd never heard this one! Didn't think Kerry had it in him.
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#21
Calvin Coolidge
Known for his sharp tongue, the 30th president of the United States was asked about a performance he went to see. "What did you think of the singer's execution?", someone asked.
Coolidge responded: "I'm all for it."
Adam Cuerden Report
Final score:
75points
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MN Free Spirit MN Free Spirit Community Member Follow
hahaha
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#22
Ernest Hemingway on William Faulkner
Hemingway, who was a prominent figure of American literature, took Faulkner's (an American writer as well) criticism ("He [Hemingway] has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.") lightly:
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"
JFK Library , Carl Van Vechten Report
Final score:
70points
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Grumble O'Pug Grumble O'Pug Community Member Follow
But Faulkner's brain was far more interesting. Hemingway spent all his time reminding himself he was a man of adventure. Great until you read the schmaltz that is For Whom The Bell Tolls.
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#23
Bill Clinton on Dan Quayle
Dan Quayle was the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993, while Bill Clinton is known to be a way more successful figure in US politics (probably not so much in his private life, but we are not here to judge).
Bill Clinton, when told during the 1992 presidential campaign that Vice President Dan Quayle intended to be a pit-bull against opponents, savagely responded:
"That's got every fire hydrant in America worried."
Unknown/U.S. Department of Defense , Unknown/U.S. Department of Defense Report
Final score:
65points
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Johanna-Nicollette Kidd Johanna-Nicollette Kidd Community Member Follow
Haha haha... Ruff ruff
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#24
Lloyd Bentsen to Dan Quayle
The infamous remark was made during the 1988 United States vice-presidential debate by Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator Dan Quayle.
Quayle: <...> I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of vice president of this country. I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. <...>
Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.
Final score:
53points
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Kristy P Kristy P Community Member Follow
I like to think that Quayle didn't think before he spoke & wasn't just an incredible idiot.
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#25
Hunter S. Thompson on Hubert Humphrey
Hunter S. Thompson, the author of 'Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas' never held back when it came to commenting on politicians, especially Richard Nixon. However, he did have some things to say about former vice president Hubert Humphrey:
"They don't hardly make 'em like Hubert anymore - but just to be on the safe side, he should be castrated anyway."
Report
Final score:
49points
Neringa Utaraitė
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Kenny Kulbiski Kenny Kulbiski Community Member Follow
I miss Hunter.
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#26
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau, a French politician and Prime Minister of France during the First World War, was talking at the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919. He proposed the harshest terms against Germany. Someone noted that historians would be arguing for generations over who was responsible for starting the Great War.
"Yes," Clemenceau responded, "but one thing is certain: They will not say that Belgium invaded Germany."
unknown Report
Final score:
47points
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Ryo Bakura Ryo Bakura Community Member Follow
He makes a valid point.
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#27
Niels Bohr to a reporter
Niels Bohr was a Danish physicist and philosopher awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.
Reporter: Can it be that you, of all people, believe a horseshoe will bring you good luck?
Bohr: Of course not, but I understand it brings you luck whether you believe it or not.
AB Lagrelius & Westphal Report
Final score:
38points
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Dora Bedpan Dora Bedpan Community Member Follow
"Reality is what refuses to disappear when you stop believing in it" - P.K.D**k
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#28
Muhammad Ali on Joe Frazier
The two life-long boxing opponents Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were known to exchange witty and humorous insults between one another. However, some think that this one time Muhammad might have taken a step too far.
After Frazier's remark ("He's phony, using his blackness to get his way"), Ali replied:
"Joe Frazier is so ugly he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wildlife."
unknown , Laurel Maryland Report
Final score:
26points
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Schrödinger's Dog Schrödinger's Dog Community Member Follow
That is either the inspiration for a yo momma joke, or a repurposed one.
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#29
H.L. Mencken on Franklin D. Roosevelt
Henry Louis Mencken was an American journalist, satirist and cultural critic. He commented widely on the social scene, arts, prominent politicians and contemporary movements. He had a few things to say about the upcoming 32nd president of the United States, too:
"If he became convinced tomorrow that coming out for cannibalism would get him the votes he needs so sorely, he would begin fattening a missionary in the White House yard come Wednesday."
Elias Goldensky Report
Final score:
23points
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Johanna-Nicollette Kidd Johanna-Nicollette Kidd Community Member Follow
Whoa, way to cook your goose msn
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#30
Mark Twain on Jane Austen
One of the most prominent American writers Mark Twain wasn't a big fan of the English novelist Jane Austen. He made a few comments here and there about her works and how much he disliked them, but one of the citations really stood out:
"Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her [Jane Austen] up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."
A.F. Bradley , unknown Report
Final score:
-33points
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Elizabeth Elizabeth Community Member Follow
If he didn't like her writing, why did he read it multiple times?
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Neringa Utaraitė
Author, Community member
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Neringa is a proud writer at Bored Panda who used to study English and French linguistics. Although she has many different interests, she's particularly drawn to covering stories about pop culture as well as history. While not at the office, this Panda enjoys creepy movies, poetry, photography and learning how to play the piano.
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Neringa Utaraitė
Author, Community member
Read more »
Neringa is a proud writer at Bored Panda who used to study English and French linguistics. Although she has many different interests, she's particularly drawn to covering stories about pop culture as well as history. While not at the office, this Panda enjoys creepy movies, poetry, photography and learning how to play the piano.
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What do you think?
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BusLady BusLady Community Member Follow
I appreciate that they briefly describe the people. It saved me from having to google those I was not yet familiar with.
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Nikki D Nikki D Community Member Follow
It was a nice and welcome touch
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Lena Hudson Lena Hudson Community Member Follow
I'm sure it's just due to nostalgia (and me entering middle age) but when it comes to epic comebacks with (hardly) a swear word in sight, we don't make 'em like we used to...
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Marina MN Marina MN Community Member Follow
if I think about it, it's quite a talent and as with all talents, not everyone has all of them
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moonlight ray moonlight ray Community Member Follow
Christopher Hitchens on Jerry Falwell: "If you gave him an enema, you could bury him in a matchbox." If that's not the most creative way of saying someone's full of s**t, I don't know what is.
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Nikki D Nikki D Community Member Follow
Damn fine insult *kisses fingertips*
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BusLady BusLady Community Member Follow
I appreciate that they briefly describe the people. It saved me from having to google those I was not yet familiar with.
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Nikki D Nikki D Community Member Follow
It was a nice and welcome touch
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Lena Hudson Lena Hudson Community Member Follow
I'm sure it's just due to nostalgia (and me entering middle age) but when it comes to epic comebacks with (hardly) a swear word in sight, we don't make 'em like we used to...
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Marina MN Marina MN Community Member Follow
if I think about it, it's quite a talent and as with all talents, not everyone has all of them
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moonlight ray moonlight ray Community Member Follow
Christopher Hitchens on Jerry Falwell: "If you gave him an enema, you could bury him in a matchbox." If that's not the most creative way of saying someone's full of s**t, I don't know what is.
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Nikki D Nikki D Community Member Follow
Damn fine insult *kisses fingertips*
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