100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Overnight NZ-wide Delivery ๐Ÿš€ Thank you for supporting our 100% NZ-owned store โค๏ธ

Scorn

The Wickedest Insults in Human History
3.51 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 193 ratings, 28 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Scorn by Matthew Parris is a witty collection of the sharpest and most scathing insults throughout history. Spanning from ancient Roman graffiti to modern social media, it features barbs from figures like Dorothy Parker, Winston Churchill, and Nigel Farage. This book reveals how verbal abuse can be crafted into an art form, encompassing literature, politics, showbiz, and more.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$3699
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers who enjoy sharp humour, historical anecdotes, and clever language play. Perfect for those seeking witty retorts or a humorous, literary gift.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

A totally up-to-date compendium of the sharpest, wittiest and downright rudest insults in human history.

The enduring collection of hilarious insults gets a FRESH NEW LOOK, perfect for Christmas gifting

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

"He's 100% political herpes. Back in six months whatever you do. Or three days, like last time." - Camilla Long on Nigel Farage

"You're as ugly as a salad." - Bulgarian insult

"I'm going to beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on." - Muhammed Ali

There's no pleasure like a perfectly-turned put-down (when it's directed at somebody else, of course) but Matthew Parris's Scorn is sharply different from the standard collections. Here are the funniest, sharpest, rudest and most devastating insults in history, from ancient Roman graffiti to the battlefields of Twitter.

Drawing on bile from such masters as Dorothy Parker, Elizabeth I, Donald Trump, Groucho Marx, Princess Anne, Winston Churchill, Nigel Farage, Mae West and Alastair Campbell - which form an exchange between voices down the ages - Scorn shows that abuse can be an art form. This collection includes extended literary invective as well as short verbal shin-kicks.

Encompassing literature, art, politics, showbiz, marriage, gender, nationality, and religion, Matthew Parris's sublime collection is the perfect companion for the festive season, whether you're searching for the perfect elegant riposte, the rudest polite letter ever written, or a brutal verbal sledgehammer.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as the perfect stocking filler, Scorn is celebrated for its wit and quality. Critics commend Matthew Parris for his clear writing style and historical insight, calling it a "glorious compendium of spite" and a "beautiful collection of insults down the ages."

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781781257302

Publisher: Profile Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 November 2017

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Profile Books Ltd

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 32.0mm

Width: 126.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 340g

Pages: 432

About the Author

Matthew Parris worked for the Foreign Office before serving as an MP. He now writes as a columnist for The Times and the Spectator, and in 2011 won the Best Columnist award at the British Press Awards. He is the author of several books, including his autobiography Chance Witness and the bestselling The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase.

Also by Matthew Parris

View all
  • Fracture
    A Times Biography of the Year Ada Lovelace. Frederick Douglass. Vladimir Lenin. Marie Curie. Frieda Kahlo. Carl Jung. Tupac Shakur. All geniuses who changed the world in ways that still influence our lives today. And all men and women who experienced, in childhood, trauma so severe that it should have broken them completely. While presenting Great Lives on Radio 4,...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from Humour

View all
  • Me vs Brain
    The hilarious book from TikTok and Insta sensation, Hayley Morris Brain - No one's going to buy your book Me - But it's good! My editor says so! Brain - Well she would, wouldn't she... Btw, didn't you leave your hair straighteners on? Me - I can't get into this now, I've got a book description to write Hello! Hayley...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • What A Way To Go
    The Million Copy #1 Bestselling Author of How to Kill Your Family is back with the new book of the moment. Featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Sunday Times Style, You Magazineโ€ฆ 'Super-sharp, lethally witty' - NIGELLA LAWSON 'Delicious' - JOJO MOYES 'Very funnyโ€ฆ I inhaled it' - JOE LYCETT โ€˜Taut, pacy, seamlessโ€ฆ a huge pleasure to readโ€™ - MARIAN KEYES โ€˜I...
    Paperback
    $3699
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Murdoku
    Place the suspects, reveal the killer! An innovative puzzle book that incorporates murder mysteries with sudoku-like logic. An addictive mix of cosy crime and colourful grid logic puzzles. These visually appealing, addictive puzzles drop solvers into immersive mini murder mysteries, combining the elegant simplicity of games like sudoku with the storytelling of classic logic problems. But Murdoku introduces its own...
    Paperback
    $3899
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Minute Cryptic
    Welcome to your brand-new wordplay obsession. From the creators of the hugely popular online puzzle platform, Minute Cryptic, comes this step-by-step guide to solving cryptic crosswords. With over 160 different clues for you to solve, each chapter takes you through a different wordplay concept essential for unlocking cryptic crossword clues. As you complete the book, you'll build your skills and...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Elsewhere:
    $3600
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Detective Beans and the Map of Mystery
    Enjoy this new DETECTIVE BEANS adventure in the bestselling and award-winning graphic novel series by Li Chen! Your favourite kitten detective is back with a new mystery to solve . . . and treasure to find! When Captain Scuttlebeard gives Beans a treasure map, Beans is determined to find the prize at the end. The clues take him all over...
    By Li Chen
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2200
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Gate of the Feral Gods
    The fourth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that's talent. Surviving in a multilevel dungeon that also happens to be the set of the galaxy's most watched game show has taught Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess...
    Hardback
    $6000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    A Parade of Horribles
    It's off to the races for Carl and Donut in the eighth book in the New York Times bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series. As chaos and mass panic spread outside the dungeon in the wake of Faction Wars, Carl and Donut find themselves on the tenth floor, where they're forced to compete in a surprisingly normal set of tasks: races....
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Game On
    Book three in the No.1 New York Times bestselling Into Darkness series,following the dark rom-com sensations Lights Out and Caught Up. The game ison for these enemies-to-lovers with laugh-out-loud banter and scorching-hotbrat play. I hate that woman. Tyler Neumann has spent years looking for his father, and not because he wants to meetthe man. No, he wants to destroy him....
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Kitchen Confidential
    The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. โ€˜Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantinoโ€™ โ€” A.A. Gill โ€˜Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioliโ€™ โ€” Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people โ€” but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Eye of the Bedlam Bride
    The sixth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Chaos reigns on the eighth floor. Coast Guard vet Carl and Princess Donut have survived longerโ€”and climbed higherโ€”than anyone expected in the galaxy's favourite reality show, but now the game is wide open. The task: capture six monsters and turn them into battle cards. The stronger the creature, the...
    Hardback
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Country People
    ๐Ÿƒ 'THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER' Mick Herron ๐ŸƒFROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF NORTH WOODS'LYRICAL and JOYFUL' Sarah Jessica Parker'Told with WARMTH and WIT, Mason's prose shimmers in this immersive ode to stories, to the land, and its people' Lucy Steeds, author of The Artist'A CHARMING, FUNNY, EXHILARATING Vermont adventure' Clare Fuller, author of Swimming LessonsMiles Krzelewski is a devoted...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.