Different approaches to satire do not translate well across national borders, nor often does the subject matter. But if ever there were a case to be made for the universality of satire itself, allow ...

I rarely bother browsing the humor sections of American bookstores even though I love funny books. With a few exceptions -- Christopher Buckley, Bill Bryson, Carl Hiaasen -- American humorists tend to ...

"Which word is funnier: porridge or oatmeal?" This is the question one of us recently posed to the other.* Clearly, the notion was insane. Surely finding something funny requires context — a ...

TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online ...

"Which word is funnier: porridge or oatmeal?" This is the question one of us recently posed to the other.* Clearly, the notion was insane. Surely finding something funny requires context — a ...