Put Downs: A Collection of Acid Wit

These are the corrosive lines that were meant to cause offence, to squash the subject like a bug under foot. The words come from a wide variety of sources: historical quotes begin with the Romans; political ripostes date from the 19th century and sock it to the present power elite; musical insults include examples from Beethoven to the Beatles. And there’s nastiness for science, TV, and theater; national put-downs; even self-inflicted wounds. Among the zingers:

“That’s not writing, that’s typing.”—Truman Capote, about Jack Kerouac.

“He’s a nice guy, but he played too much football with his helmet off.”—Lyndon B. Johnson on Gerald Ford.