"No, hate the theater."

"Which team are you for in the series?"

"Neither. Only an idiot could be interested in baseball."

"Country must have a good many idiots!" mockingly.

"Obviously it has." Full stop. In desperation you veer to the personal.

"I've never seen Mrs. Bobo Gilding as beautiful as she is to-night."

"Nothing beautiful about her. As for the name 'Bobo,' it's asinine."

"Oh, it's just one of those children's names that stick sometimes for
life."

"Perfect rot. Ought to be called by his name," etc.

Another, not very different in type though different in method, is the
self-appointed instructor whose proper place is on the lecture platform,
not at a dinner table.

"The earliest coins struck in the Peloponnesus were stamped on one side
only; their alloy----" etc.

Another is the expounder of the obvious: "Have you ever noticed," says he,
deeply thinking, "how people's tastes differ?"

Then there is the vulgarian of fulsome compliment: "Why are you so