#Wit

The Comical Allure of Watching Work

Jerome K. Jerome’s quip turns a familiar virtue—loving work—into a sly confession: he loves it most as a spectator.

When Cleverness Outruns Clarity in Conversation

Oscar Wilde’s line works first as a comic confession: he portrays himself as so dazzlingly intelligent that his own speech becomes unintelligible even to him. Yet the humor also hints at self-awareness, because Wilde is...