As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, / I must not look to have; but, in their stead, / Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath, / Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not" (5.3.25-28).
William ShakespeareRead
Thou weedy elf-skinned canker-blossom!
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote captures a humorous insult filled with imaginative imagery.
In this quote, Shakespeare cleverly uses vivid and absurd imagery to craft an insult, showcasing his mastery of language and wit. The terms 'weedy', 'elf-skinned', and 'canker-blossom' evoke strange and humorous associations, illustrating the creativity of language in expressing disdain while also entertaining the audience.
Themes
HumorInsultImageryLanguageWit
In practice
Example use cases
During a comedic roast, one could use this quote to add flair to an insult with a Shakespearean twist.
More from William Shakespeare
All quotes βLove bears it out even to the edge of doom.
William ShakespeareRead
Good company, good wine, good welcome, can make good people.
William ShakespeareRead
Absence doth sharpen love, presence strengthens it; the one brings fuel, the other blows it till it burns clear.
William ShakespeareRead
Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!
William ShakespeareRead
Give it an understanding, but no tongue.
William ShakespeareRead
Similar quotes
"Do you like card tricks?" "No, I hate card tricks," I answered. "Well, I`ll just show you this one." He showed me three.
W. Somerset MaughamRead
There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Well, Art is Art, isn't it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know.
Groucho MarxRead
If there's anything I hate more than a stupid action comedy, it's an incompetent stupid action comedy. It's not so bad it's good. It's so bad it's nothing else but bad.
Roger EbertRead
The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.
George CarlinRead
Humor is the healthy way of feeling "distance" between one's self and the problem, a way of standing off and looking at one's problem with perspective.
Rollo MayRead