Who said “The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those of…”?

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James Thurber. A published source records them saying or writing it.

Source"The Duchess and the Bugs", Lanterns & Lances (1961). The piece was "a response" to an award Thurber received from the Ohioana Library Association in 1953.

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“The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those of libel.”
— James Thurber
Verified"The Duchess and the Bugs", Lanterns & Lances (1961). The piece was "a response" to an award Thurber received from the Ohioana Library Association in 1953. · evidenceComedy and Comedians
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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: "The Duchess and the Bugs", Lanterns & Lances (1961). The piece was "a response" to an award Thurber received from the Ohioana Library Association in 1953..

APA

Thurber, J. (n.d.). The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those of libel. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/6689-the-only-rules-comedy-can-tolerate-are-those/

MLA

Thurber, James. “The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those of libel.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/6689-the-only-rules-comedy-can-tolerate-are-those/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Thurber, James. “The only rules comedy can tolerate are those of taste, and the only limitations those of libel.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/6689-the-only-rules-comedy-can-tolerate-are-those/.

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“He who hesitates is sometimes saved.”
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“You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.”
Verified"The Owl who was God", The New Yorker (29 April 1939); Fables for Our Time & Famous Poems Illustrated (1940). Parody of "You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." · evidenceDetails & citeLies and Lying
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“Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone?”
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All 54 James Thurber quotes →