Snarking and Literature

Lawrence Dorfman’s The Snark Handbook: A Reference Guide to Verbal Sparring is among my Christmas gifts this year and immediately attracted my attention because of the wealth of quotations it provides from various sources. For those of us who are unfamiliar with the term, Dorfman provides this etymology:

“snark\snärk\n 1 biting wit 2 a : smartass remark b : slyly disparaging comment 3 : bastardization of ‘snide remark’ snarky — \snärke\ adj. : IRASCIBLE, SNAPPISH snark+ ier; – est”

Examples? How about these:

“The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.” George Bernard Shaw

“This is not a novel to be taken lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” Dorothy Parker

“”Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.” Mark Twain

“From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend to read it.” Groucho Marx

“The covers of this book are too far apart.” Ambrose Bierce

“Truman Capote’s death was a good career move.” Gore Vidal

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunateky, no one knows what they are.” W. Somerset Maugham

“She looked as if she had been poured into her clothes and had forgotten to say ‘when.’” P.G. Wodehouse

“The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with.” Marty Feldman