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Practical Jokes by Richard Boston
The late Richard Boston (1938 -2006 ) was an interesting man. He was a columnist for the Guardian,a writer on beer in the early days of Real Ale, the author of Beer and Skittles, a history of the...
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Walter Jerrold as book collector
We at Jot 101 had not imagined the travel writer and biographer Walter Jerrold ( 1865 – 1929 ) to be a frequenter of second-hand bookstalls, but there he is as an unabashed collector of ‘unconsidered...
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Max Beerbohm—practical joker
In The C. O. Jones Compendium of Practical Jokes(1982) Richard Boston narrates some entertaining anecdotes concerning the humorist Max Beerbohm. Most of those involving the ‘ alteration ‘ of books...
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Some anecdotes from ‘Fun with the Famous’ by H. Cecil Hunt (1928)
Funny book titles in Prince Edward’s Library. In the library of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) at Marlborough House were many false book spines inscribed with amusing titles, most dating...
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Some nightclubs and ‘dives ‘ of post-war London
We at Jot HQ know our audience. We know, for instance, that Jots on long-departed restaurants and pubs in London are popular. Presumably, Jots on seedy night clubs and ‘ dives ‘ ( do people still use...
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Zen and the art of Wordle
Are there ways of solving Wordle in 2 or 3 goes? One go is pure chance, although undoubtedly a glorious feeling, to get it in two is very lucky– possibly with a touch of inspiration and nouse, three...
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Royal Alphabet Game (R.A.G)
This game was sent to Jot by someone call Opal Alger, possibly a pseudonym, but it conforms to the rules of her or his game. They call it the ‘Royal Alphabet Game’ (R.A.G) as it was supposed to have...
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The Sunday Times Book of Answers (1993)
In 1993 Andrew ‘Brillo Pad’ Neil, editor of the Sunday Times, initiated a regular column in his paper inviting readers to submit answers to the origins of well known phrases and institutions. In the...
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Stephen Potter’s Relaxmanship (1965)
Steohen Potter. From the National Portrait Gallery (many thanks) Books sponsored by companies, particularly drug companies, were more common in the nineteenth or early twentieth century, than they are...
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The Sunday Times Book of Answers part two
Tony Body of York wanted to know the origin of the political terms left wing and right wing ? Some may have guessed that the terms had something to do with football, but Mr Ross Ferguson-Ford of...
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TV versus the movies in fifties America
In recent years much has been predicted concerning the demise of movie theatres as a result of the popularity of streaming. Why, it is argued, would cinemagoers make the effort and pay money to visit...
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More howlers, misprints and poor grammar from Much too funny for words by...
1) Misprints Two tablespoonful of paraffin oil added to the footpath will relieve and refresh aching feet. Local paper. The Churchillian jaw was outthrust and the Prime Minister thumped the despatch...
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John Buchan parody by AI and a Clo-Kepp attendee
Illustration from DALL-E when asked for a book cover for Buchan’s The Three Hostages. It doesnt seem to understand his name.. I asked Chat GPT to come up with a John Buchan parody. The brief was to...
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Fun with Puns
Fun with Puns Found at Jot HQ the other day, a small booklet of 48 pages entitled A Pennyworth of Puns, which in its references to Home Rule and The New Woman, can be dated to the close of the...
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Another helping of misprints and syntactic fatuity from Much too Funny for...
It is generally agreed that human beings acquire sleeping sickness from biting flies The Pioneer. It is estimated that about 16 foxes were shot or killed by the hounds FOR SALE. Baker’s business, good...
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More hilarious bits from Denys Parsons’ Much Too Funny for Words
Detectives making last-minute enquiries went to a stable in Berkshire yesterday. They wanted to interview the occupier. Evening Standard. Miss Y—, the well known singer was nearly poisoned at one...
View ArticleThe Encyclopedia of Insulting Behaviour (Anonymous 1981).
Forget the Season of Good Will. Behaving insultingly is much more fun. Over Christmas why not try out some of these stunts. Abroad. Insist on paying for everything in sterling. Ask for local...
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Cycling on the ‘Continong’ in 1906
Two things that jump out from a cursory glance at The Continong by the pseudonymous Anar de la Grenouillere, F.O.N.S., of which a file copy of the fourth edition of 1906 was found at Jot HQ the other...
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Fanny and Johnnie visit Quo Vadis, one of Ian Fleming’s favourite restaurants
(..thanks Flashbak) We don’t know whether Fanny and Johnnie Cradock, aka ‘Bon Viveur’, were fans of James Bond’s creator Ian Fleming , but the three writers had one thing in common. They all liked...
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Cycling on the ‘Continong’ in 1906
. Two things that jump out from a cursory glance at The Continong by the pseudonymous Anar de la Grenouillere, F.O.N.S., of which a file copy of the fourth edition of 1906 was found at Jot HQ the...
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