I Wish I Hadn't Said That

by Geoff Tibballs

Ever since Mrs Malaprop first took to the stage in 1775 and described a gentleman as 'the very pineapple of politeness', some famous figures have become better known for their slips of the tongue than for anything they said intentionally. In particular, the careers of a number of broadcasters, sporting figures and politicians have become defined by their verbal blunders. Former US Vice-President Dan Quayle is remembered solely for making unfortunate remarks such as 'Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.' Welsh naturalist Iolo Williams sent Twitter into meltdown when, discussing diving sea birds on Springwatch 2016, he asked a female conservationist: 'Is that the deepest shag you've ever had?' Even respected sports broadcaster Harry Carpenter was probably haunted forever by his seemingly innocent comment at the end of the 1977 Boat Race: 'Ah, isn't that nice? The wife of the Cambridge President is kissing the cox of the Oxford crew.'

I Wish I Hadn't Said That is a collection of over 3,000 spoken and written blunders - including unintentional double entendres, spoonerisms, mixed metaphors, malapropisms, jaw-dropping remarks, misguided quiz show answers, embarrassing newspaper misprints, and foreign signs and notices that have sadly become lost in translation.

326 pages, Paperback

Reviews

[David Lai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a few of the quotes in this book seemed oddly familiar, and this was explained at the end of the book, when I saw the "Sources" page. It seems that you can write a book of funny quotations by cannibalizing other books of funny quotations, and that copyright isn't an issue. To say this book is eclectic would be an understatement -- there are quotations from various centuries earlier than the 20th, and some actual Spoonerisms (many only "attributed") from the Rev. Spooner himself, which are disappointingly unfunny. Perhaps the excessively disparate origins and randomness of presentation within each section accounts for much of the book being unfunny. That numerous Yogi Berra sayings were included suggests that the author lacks a sense of irony. However, I did laugh a lot at the sections on apologies & corrections, and foreign signs.

[Louise Hubbard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. Went in the bin in brand new condition.

[Beverley Lennon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing

[Haley Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll give it 3.5 stars.. we really should be able to give half a star on here by now!!

Anyhow.. I got this book from the works for £3 (RRP £9.99) and I'm so glad I didn't pay the original RRP.. the first part of the book wasn't that great, unless you're a sports fan. Many of the comments where made by some form of sports professional or commentators and for someone who isn't really into sport it was hard to make sense of some of the comments.

The 2nd part of the book was much better and did give me quite a few giggle along the way. It wasn't an awful book but I wouldn't go out of my way to read it again and I am not sure if I'll remember it in the future like I have with so many others