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Quote#Books & Reading

Nine-tenths of the value of a sense of humor in writing is not in the…

Quote byRobert Benchley · 1889–1945

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: LIFE magazine (8 March 1929).

English (original)

Nine-tenths of the value of a sense of humor in writing is not in the things it makes one write but in the things it keeps one from writing. It is especially valuable in this respect in serious writing, and no one without a sense of humor should ever write seriously. For without knowing what is funny, one is constantly in danger of being funny without knowing it.

— Robert Benchley

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