"Esar's Comic Dictionary" by Evan Esar, published by Harvest House, New York, 1943. Stated First Edition on the copyright page.

Green hard boards with yellow lettering on spine and front board [spine ends and shelf wear]; 5.1/2" x 8.1/2"; slightly stained endpapers, 313 pages, very good condition.

"This dictionary is an outgrowth of a private collection of original comic definitions and epigrams which comprised a small 'comictionary'...is a pioneer effort" [from the authorâ€â„¢s Forward].

"Yes indeed. This book is A dictionary. Only difference between a Webster's dictionary and an Esar's dictionary is that every definition in Esar's dictionary is a joke."

"This is probably the funniest book I have ever read in my life. Every page you turn to there's a great joke. I took this book to my work and it became an instant hit. I had to leave it in the common area so that everybody can browse through it in their break time." [review]

"Even though this book was written in 1943, the jokes are still funny. I was surprised that there were stereotypes in 40's also and some of them are still valid." [review]

Evan Esar (1899-1995) was an American humorist who wrote Esar's Comic Dictionary in 1943, Humorous English in 1961, and 20,000 Quips and Quotes in 1968. He is known for quotes like "Statistics: The only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions."

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