# Kurt Tucholsky's sharpest one-liners (with sources)

"What is satire allowed to do? Everything", economics as people wondering why they have no money, and the revolution that took place in music because of bad weather: the sharpest lines of German satirist Kurt Tucholsky from Die Weltbühne, Castle Gripsholm and his letters.

- 4 votes · 18 items
- May 31, 2021 · laeufer.gemuetlich
- https://even.best/en/l/5099/kurt-tucholsky-s-sharpest-one-liners-with-sources

## Top 18

1. **Owing to unfavourable weather, the German revolution took place in music.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — "Schnipsel", Die Weltbühne, December 30, 1930.
2. **You can also do something wrong for twenty years.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — "Schnipsel", Die Weltbühne, March 8, 1932.
3. **We lay on the meadow and let our souls dangle.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Castle Gripsholm (1931).
4. **Economics is when people wonder why they have no money.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Kurzer Abriß der Nationalökonomie", Die Weltbühne, September 15, 1931.
5. **As for the world economy, it is intertwined.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Kurzer Abriß der Nationalökonomie", Die Weltbühne, September 15, 1931.
6. **Germany is an anatomical curiosity: it writes with the left and acts with the right.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Schnipsel", Die Weltbühne, February 3, 1931.
7. **The German fate: to stand in front of a counter. The German ideal: to sit behind one.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Schnipsel", Die Weltbühne, May 27, 1930.
8. **Human stupidity is international.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Hégésippe Simon", Die Weltbühne, December 15, 1931.
9. **There are people who would rather stand in first class than sit in third. They are not likeable people.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Schnipsel", Die Weltbühne, March 8, 1932.
10. **In a marriage one partner is usually the fool. Only when two fools marry can it sometimes work out.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Schnipsel", Die Weltbühne, August 9, 1932.
11. **Man consists of bones, flesh, blood, saliva, cells and vanity.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Was man andern übel nimmt", Uhu, August 11, 1929.
12. **The basis of any healthy order is a big wastepaper basket.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Das kann man noch gebrauchen -!", Neue Leipziger Zeitung, August 19, 1930.
13. **The cat is the only four-legged animal that has convinced humans they must keep it, while it need do nothing in return.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Der Katzentrust", Vossische Zeitung, June 17, 1928.
14. **Your own dog doesn't make noise - it just barks.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Was machen die Leute da oben eigentlich?", Uhu, June 1, 1930.
15. **When a German's heart is truly content, he does not sing. He plays skat.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — "Das neue Lied".
16. **For that is humour: seeing through things as if they were made of glass.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Letter to Mary Gerold, October 4, 1918.
17. **Haven't you noticed how much cheek can be explained by insecurity?** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Castle Gripsholm (1931).
18. **What is satire allowed to do? Everything.** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — "Was darf die Satire?", Berliner Tageblatt, January 27, 1919.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.