Insults

 Note:  These are from the era before the English language got boiled down to four-letter words:

He has delusions of adequacy.  by Walter Kerr

He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.  by Winston Churchill

I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.  Clarence Darrow.

He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.  William Faulkner about Ernest Hemingway.

Poor Faulkner.  Does he really think big emotions come from big words?  Ernest Hemingway about William Faulkner

Thank you for sending me a copy of your book.  I'll waste no time reading it. Moses Hadas

I didn't attend the funeral but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.  Mark Twain

He has no enemies but is intensely disliked by his friends.  Oscar Wilde

I am enclosing two tickets to my new play; bring a friend if you have one.  George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

Couldn't possibly attend first night, will attend second...if there is one.  Chaurchill's response to Shaw.

I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here.  Stephen Bishop

He is a self-made man and worships his creator.  John Bright

I've just learned about his illness.  Let's hope it's nothing trivial.   Irvin Cobb

He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others.  Samuel Johnson