Dorothy Parker
Razor-tongued New Yorker
Dorothy Parker was an American writer and wit known for her sharp, sardonic humor.
She wrote poetry, short stories, and criticism, and was a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table, a celebrated circle of New York literary figures in the 1920s.
Her quips remain widely quoted: Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses.
Parker's name evokes caustic cleverness and a talent for the devastating one-liner.
Brief, clever remark
- wisecrackFlippant clever remark
- reparteeQuick, clever conversation
- epigramPithy, memorable saying
- aphorismTerse general truth
bon mot · one-liner · retort · zingers · Algonquin · acerbic · sardonic · mordant
Metered poetic passage
- light verseHumorous, often rhyming poetry
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
- meterDevice that measures usage
brevity · epigram · stanza · sentiment · melancholy · suicide · heartbreak · bitter
Illicit liquor establishment
- ProhibitionConstitutional alcohol ban era
- Roaring TwentiesProsperous 1920s era
- flapperTwenties unconventional young woman
- ManhattanNYC's densest borough
New Yorker · Vanity Fair · cocktails · literati · cafe society · smart set · sophistication · decadence
Meaning opposite to words
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
- lampoonHarsh public mockery
- mockeryScornful ridicule or travesty
- skeweringPiercing with a pointed rod
social commentary · cynicism · biting · trenchant · acerbity · ridicule · send-up · deflation
Critical analysis of literature
- New YorkerResident of a major metropolis
- panShallow cooking vessel
- Vanity FairUpscale lifestyle publication
- acerbicSharp and biting
dismissive · quotable · judgment · cultural commentary · standards · literary taste · assessment
Brief prose narratives
- screenwriterAuthor of film scripts
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- playwrightAuthor of stage dramas
- essayistAuthor of short prose
dialogue · fiction · protagonist · narrator · collaboration · manuscript · published · collected works
quip
Brief, clever remark
aphorism · bon mot · one-liner · retort · zingers · Algonquin · acerbic · sardonic · mordant · caustic
verse
Metered poetic passage
- light verseHumorous, often rhyming poetry
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
meter · brevity · epigram · stanza · sentiment · melancholy · suicide · heartbreak · bitter · unrequited
speakeasy
Illicit liquor establishment
- ProhibitionConstitutional alcohol ban era
- Roaring TwentiesProsperous 1920s era
- flapperTwenties unconventional young woman
Manhattan · New Yorker · Vanity Fair · cocktails · literati · cafe society · smart set · sophistication · decadence
irony
Meaning opposite to words
skewering · social commentary · cynicism · biting · trenchant · acerbity · ridicule · send-up · deflation · barbs
book review
Critical analysis of literature
- New YorkerResident of a major metropolis
- panShallow cooking vessel
- Vanity FairUpscale lifestyle publication
acerbic · dismissive · quotable · judgment · cultural commentary · standards · literary taste · assessment
short stories
Brief prose narratives
- screenwriterAuthor of film scripts
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- playwrightAuthor of stage dramas
essayist · dialogue · fiction · protagonist · narrator · collaboration · manuscript · published · collected works · anthologized
- comedycomedy, jokes, humor, puns, sarcasm
- AuthorsShakespeare, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Twain, F. Scott Fitzgerald
- 1920s IconsBabe Ruth, Charlie Chaplin, Al Capone, Charles Lindbergh, Duke Ellington
- criticscritic, critics, criticizer, criticizers, faultfinder
- Women WritersJane Austen, Emily Bronte, Virginia Woolf, George Eliot, Anne Bronte
- 20th Century AuthorsErnest Hemingway, Hemingway, William Faulkner, Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Dorothy ParkerDale Carnegie
Pollyanna · Anne of Green Gables · Mr. Rogers · optimist · L.M. Montgomery
Dorothy ParkerWill Rogers
American humorist and rope artist
Norman Rockwell · Billy Graham · Grandma Moses · Andy Griffith · Laura Ingalls Wilder