Hello again and welcome back to Happy Hour. Ages ago, I did an episode on the art of being sarcastic, on sarcastic comebacks. And it seems that a lot of you really like that episode. Well, if like me you're interested in the art of sarcasm and witty words and one-liners, you're going to love today's episode. Today, let me present to you the king of sarcasm, Oscar Wilde.
If you're not into literature, you probably find this name a little bit unfamiliar. But I'm sure most of you have heard the Chinese translation of his name before. This is 王尔德. So who is Oscar Wilde? Why is he known for his sarcasm and wit? Well， born in 1854 and died in 1900, Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright. So he wrote plays, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Far more than just being an ordinary author, he was one of the most iconic figures from late Victorian society. His wit, humor and intelligence shine through his plays and writings. At the same time, he was well known for his flamboyant fashion sense. Flamboyant means he dresses in a way that is strikingly bold, daring, in very, very bold colours, very unusual design, very colorful design. Even nowadays fashion world still takes inspiration from him. Especially back then, for his sexuality because he was with another man, so for this, he suffered the indignity and shame of imprisonment. He was thrown into prison, and for a long time, his name was synonymous with scandal and intrigue. So he was one of those figures that people talked about a lot, whether in a favorable or in a judgmental tone.
And nowadays he is remembered with great affection for his biting social criticism, wit and linguistic skills. His biting social criticism, biting, you know the word bite, well, teeth can bite, but sarcasm, words can bite as well, so biting social criticism. Wit, this is usually very intelligent humor and linguistic skills. He was a master of words. Apart from English, he was fluent in French, German, Italian, and Ancient Greek, and was the king of sarcasm and witticism. Witticism is from the word wit. So let's look at some of his most famous quotes.
For example, he said, when I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I'm old I know that it is. I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I'm old I know that it is. And he made fun of everything. He was sarcastic about everything. He made fun of his friends. He said I don't want to go to heaven. None of my friends are there. At the same time, he made fun of his enemies. He said, always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much. Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much.

Sometimes he says things like a mischievous little child, for example, he said, always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back. Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back. He was also very good at playing with words. For instance, he said, some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go. Got it? Listen to this again. Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go. He makes fun of youthful ignorance saying, I'm not young enough to know everything. I'm not young enough to know everything. Very simple words but spot on comments. Apart from making fun of people, he also makes fun of a lot of big concept, for example education. He said education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. Wilde was also very cynical about marriage and relationships. For example, he said marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is triumph of hope over experience. And he was also notorious for making fun of women. One of the quotes is a man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction. A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction.
From the fact that he made fun of practically everything and every concept, you could guess that he thought very highly of himself. He said things like whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong. And remember I said that a lot of people criticized him, judged him for his lifestyle. To that, he said the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. But just when you start to think, oh, this guy is so annoying, he also made fun of himself a lot. He said I can resist everything except temptation. I can resist everything except temptation. Or, I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I'm saying. I'm so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I'm saying.
Apart from being sarcastic and just witty, wild also came up with these sentences, and when you read it and you think that is so very true. It's almost like he could read our inner most secretive thoughts. For instance, he said it's very easy to endure the difficulties of one's enemies. It is the successes of one's friends that are hard to bear. It's very easy to endure the difficulties of one's enemies. It is the successes of one's friends that are hard to bear. Or something like this, the nicest feeling in the world is to do a good deed anonymously and have somebody find out. The nicest feeling in the world is to do a good deed anonymously and have somebody find out.
Now if you think that Oscar Wilde was only good at being sarcastic, you might be wrong because occasionally he did come up with very inspirational sentences. And some of these are so popular in English speaking countries; people tattooed these sentences on themselves. So let's end today's program with a few of those. The first one is be yourself, everyone else is already taken. Be yourself, everyone else is already taken. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. And the last one, which is my favorite, he said, we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. So on that note, let us end today's episode.
If you have any other quotes of Oscar Wilde and you wish to share, or if you like any of these quotes, feel free to share with us in the comments section. I'll see you next time. Bye.

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