Quote by Mark Twain

Wit and Humor -- if any difference, it is in duration -- lightning and electric light. Same material, apparently; but one is vivid, and can do damage -- the other fools along and enjoys elaboration.

Wit and Humor -- if any difference, it is in duration -- lig

Summary

This quote suggests that wit and humor are similar in essence but differ in terms of their impact and expression. Wit is compared to lightning, which is intense and fleeting, while humor is likened to electric light, which is sustained and less harmful. Both employ the same material (cleverness), but wit is sharp and can be incisive, while humor tends to be more laid-back and thrives on elaboration. Essentially, wit offers a quick and impactful punch, while humor prolongs the enjoyment with continuous amusement.

Topics

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

I was in a queer mood, thinking myself very old: but now I a

I was in a queer mood, thinking myself very old: but now I am a woman again -- as I always am when I write.

Authors & Writing

My wife and I just prefer Seattle. It's a beautiful city. Gr

My wife and I just prefer Seattle. It's a beautiful city. Great setting. You open your front door in the morning and the air smells like pine and the sea, as opposed to bus exhaust.

I've never really understood that. It's a funny thing people

I've never really understood that. It's a funny thing people sometimes accuse us of condescending to our characters somehow-that to me is kind of inexplicable.

Great Socialist statesmen aren't made, they're still-born.

Great Socialist statesmen aren't made, they're still-born.

Hector Hugh Munro

The big question society will have to answer is whether it w

The big question society will have to answer is whether it wants computers thinking like humans.

It is easy to talk of sitting at home contented, when others

It is easy to talk of sitting at home contented, when others are seeing or making shows. But not to have been where it is supposed, and seldom supposed falsely, that all would go if they could; to be able to say nothing when everyone is talking; to have no opinion when everyone is judging; to hear exclamations of rapture without power to depress; to listen to falsehoods without right to contradict, is, after all, a state of temporary inferiority, in which the mind is rather hardened by stubbornness, than supported by fortitude. If the world be worth winning let us enjoy it, if it is to be despised let us despise it by conviction. But the world is not to be despised but as it is compared with something better.

There are only two sorts of people in life you can trust - g

There are only two sorts of people in life you can trust - good Christians and good Communists.

There are no better cosmetics than a severe temperance and p

There are no better cosmetics than a severe temperance and purity, modesty and humility, a gracious temper and calmness of spirit and there is no true beauty without the signatures of these graces in the very countenance.

The only people who never fail are those who never try.

The only people who never fail are those who never try.

Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we h

Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.

Harry Emerson Fosdick

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.

Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.

Albert Einstein

God Religion Coincidence

Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, ha

Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practiced in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character than the display of great talents and accomplishments.

Things Little Things