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Truly Tasteless Jokes

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jokes, though, would seem to have gone far beyond the bounds. These are not subtle expressions, their critics charge, but slurs and violations. They result not in marriage, nor even in an affair, but in a reconnoiter somewhere in the shadows. Actually, however, the rendezvous takes place in full
250:, portrayed as an inspirational text read by members of a counterculture resembling the hippies of the 1960s, but espousing conservative views considered typical of the Reagan era in American politics. The condemnation and criticism, however, did little to stop the book's success. 285:
claimed the book was representative of his sense of humour, saying, "... all fucked up shit; it makes me laugh — and that kind of stuff is where my brain goes. I’m not saying I’ve never gone too far, but people shouldn’t be looking to me for political correctness."
27: 146:, Applewhite wrote that her collection of jokes quickly grew, and she would ask her coworkers and friends if they knew any others. Frustrated over her $ 8,500 annual salary as a lowly assistant, she decided to compile a book of the jokes to publish. 172:(punchline: garbage gets picked up); however, the marketing director responded that she did not get it and wanted to know what the book was about. Applewhite responded, "It’s a book of tasteless jokes," which the marketing director liked. 278:
quips is the very pieties of society that apply such labels. They make us laugh at the pretense that such prejudices do not exist and at the respectable assertion that we are really all the same."
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Applewhite asked a colleague to be her book agent, but their attempts to have the book published resulted in strong rejections; Applewhite recalled that her agent was told by
261:, wrote, "... the telling of a joke brings into the light of society that which is hidden; it creates a marriage between the respectable and the unacceptable. 266:
daylight, with prejudices and fears displayed for the pleasure of thousands, and the point being made may not be as obvious as it at first appears. ... The
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of these jokes—many of which have been told for generations—is their main point: Prejudice is mocked, distended to a ludicrous degree. The target of these
120:, first published in 1982 under the pen name "Blanche Knott." The book was a cultural phenomenon and spawned dozens of sequels, including the best-sellers 485: 99: 480: 240:
said the books' success was "a sad testament to the taste of this country." In a satirical vein, an installment of the comic strip
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spoke of the "breakdown of decency and of standards of taste" in these "terribly tasteless, disgusting books," while professor
372: 344: 403: 189: 465: 140:, where she learned numerous offensive jokes, which her boss encouraged her to write down. In a 2011 article in 137: 318: 142: 196:, homosexual, and handicapped. The book's jokes were typically a few lines or paragraphs in length. 470: 215: 408: 377: 349: 237: 209: 431: 221: 117: 94: 37: 254: 165: 71: 233: 185: 150: 113: 26: 454: 168:, decided to publish it. The original title was one of Applewhite's favorite jokes, 242: 193: 181: 161: 153:'s paperback imprint that "We can't publish this here. I'm not even sure we can 180:
Applewhite organized her joke collection into "timeless categories" including
313: 225:. The original book was the best-selling mass-market paperback of 1983; 232:
The book's uncensored jokes received significant criticism. Historian
282: 184:("How did Helen Keller burn her fingers? Reading the waffle iron"), 207:
became a runaway bestseller, appearing on the bestseller lists of
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What’s the Difference Between Garbage and a Girl from New Jersey?
432:"Eminem on His New Album, His Critics, and Hating Donald Trump" 136:
Applewhite moved to New York City in 1977 to work for
93: 85: 77: 67: 59: 51: 43: 33: 373:"Publishing: 'search' Heads 1983 Hard-cover List" 404:"Reading and Writing: Freud on Tastelessness" 345:"Ethnic Jokebooks Flourish Despite Criticism" 16:1982 best seller and sequels by Blanche Knott 8: 397: 395: 338: 336: 19: 25: 18: 307: 305: 303: 301: 246:featured a book with a title similar to 297: 128:(1984) and a stand-up comedy special. 402:Rothstein, Edward (August 28, 1983). 7: 371:McDowell, Edwin (February 3, 1984). 257:, analyzing the books' success for 14: 486:Works published under a pseudonym 343:McDowell, Edwin (July 30, 1983). 312:Applewhite, Ashton (June 2011). 430:Marchese, David (2017-12-18). 160:Marilyn Abraham, an editor at 1: 229:was No. 10 on the same list. 126:Truly Tasteless Jokes Three 502: 481:American non-fiction books 227:Truly Tasteless Jokes Two 122:Truly Tasteless Jokes Two 24: 476:Ballantine Books books 461:1982 non-fiction books 20:Truly Tasteless Jokes 248:Truly Tasteless Jokes 205:Truly Tasteless Jokes 109:Truly Tasteless Jokes 281:In 2017, the rapper 216:The Washington Post 21: 409:The New York Times 378:The New York Times 350:The New York Times 259:The New York Times 238:John Hope Franklin 210:The New York Times 138:St. Martin's Press 466:Books about humor 319:Harper's Magazine 222:Publishers Weekly 143:Harper's Magazine 118:Ashton Applewhite 105: 104: 100:978-0-345-32920-2 78:Publication place 493: 446: 445: 443: 442: 427: 421: 420: 418: 416: 399: 390: 389: 387: 385: 368: 362: 361: 359: 357: 340: 331: 330: 328: 326: 309: 255:Edward Rothstein 166:Ballantine Books 72:Ballantine Books 29: 22: 501: 500: 496: 495: 494: 492: 491: 490: 451: 450: 449: 440: 438: 429: 428: 424: 414: 412: 401: 400: 393: 383: 381: 370: 369: 365: 355: 353: 342: 341: 334: 324: 322: 314:"Being Blanche" 311: 310: 299: 295: 289: 234:Barbara Tuchman 202: 178: 151:Dell Publishing 134: 114:off-color humor 17: 12: 11: 5: 499: 497: 489: 488: 483: 478: 473: 468: 463: 453: 452: 448: 447: 422: 391: 363: 332: 296: 294: 291: 201: 198: 177: 174: 133: 130: 103: 102: 97: 91: 90: 87: 83: 82: 79: 75: 74: 69: 65: 64: 61: 57: 56: 53: 49: 48: 45: 41: 40: 35: 31: 30: 15: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 498: 487: 484: 482: 479: 477: 474: 472: 469: 467: 464: 462: 459: 458: 456: 437: 433: 426: 423: 411: 410: 405: 398: 396: 392: 380: 379: 374: 367: 364: 352: 351: 346: 339: 337: 333: 321: 320: 315: 308: 306: 304: 302: 298: 292: 290: 287: 284: 279: 277: 273: 269: 268:tastelessness 264: 260: 256: 251: 249: 245: 244: 239: 235: 230: 228: 224: 223: 218: 217: 212: 211: 206: 199: 197: 195: 191: 187: 183: 175: 173: 171: 167: 163: 158: 156: 152: 147: 145: 144: 139: 131: 129: 127: 123: 119: 115: 112:is a book of 111: 110: 101: 98: 96: 92: 88: 84: 81:United States 80: 76: 73: 70: 66: 62: 58: 54: 50: 46: 42: 39: 38:Blanche Knott 36: 32: 28: 23: 439:. Retrieved 435: 425: 415:September 4, 413:. Retrieved 407: 382:. Retrieved 376: 366: 354:. Retrieved 348: 323:. Retrieved 317: 288: 280: 275: 271: 267: 262: 258: 252: 247: 243:Bloom County 241: 231: 226: 220: 214: 208: 204: 203: 182:Helen Keller 179: 169: 162:Random House 159: 154: 148: 141: 135: 125: 121: 108: 107: 106: 124:(1983) and 471:Joke books 455:Categories 441:2023-04-26 384:August 20, 356:August 20, 325:August 20, 293:References 272:outrageous 188:, Jewish, 132:Background 263:Tasteless 200:Reception 192:, black, 186:dead baby 68:Publisher 60:Published 164:imprint 44:Language 436:Vulture 253:Critic 176:Summary 47:English 283:Eminem 194:Polish 34:Author 276:gross 157:it." 155:Xerox 86:Pages 55:humor 52:Genre 417:2016 386:2015 358:2015 327:2015 274:and 219:and 190:WASP 95:ISBN 63:1982 116:by 89:128 457:: 434:. 406:. 394:^ 375:. 347:. 335:^ 316:. 300:^ 213:, 444:. 419:. 388:. 360:. 329:.

Index


Blanche Knott
Ballantine Books
ISBN
978-0-345-32920-2
off-color humor
Ashton Applewhite
St. Martin's Press
Harper's Magazine
Dell Publishing
Random House
Ballantine Books
Helen Keller
dead baby
WASP
Polish
The New York Times
The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Barbara Tuchman
John Hope Franklin
Bloom County
Edward Rothstein
Eminem




"Being Blanche"
Harper's Magazine

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