Viz (1)Critiques

Smut and low level double entendre never tire me so I have naturally been a fan of "Viz" for many years. I used to own a copy of "Roget's Thesaurus" and I have to say I prefer "Roger's Profanisaurus" hands down (which is probably a rude saying covered in the "Profanisaurus"). And why wouldn't you? After all, could you randomly open a page in the "Thesaurus" and find the entry for 'Mole at the counter', which is a euphemism for someone with a turd half hanging out of their backside?

There are also references to Noddy Holder's sideburns, lead the llama to the lift shaft and frottage cheese, to name a few randoms. Definitely worth having next to you while you write an angry email to someone, or if you need to describe what just came out of your rectum.½

It's a commonly repeated urban myth that the Eskimo-Aleut languages have innumerable words for "snow". That is, of course, what scholars call "bollocks". Viz, however, has been able to catalogue approximately 4,450 English terms for fornication, masturbation and defecation. It is a bawdy, baseless and brilliant achievement and quite questionably more fun than an evening of firkyfoodling afore the Finsbury Bridge - an absolutely indispensible reference work.

I bought this because of the Christian name I share with the author (entirely mythical AFAIK).

This book is packed with indescribable filth! The Bishop of Bonkshire would not be amused.

I am amused - a great little book!

I have no idea why I enjoyed this more than the previous annual, The Five Knuckle Shuffle: maybe I'm more used to the humour? maybe because I followed my own advise and read only 30 or so pages at a time? Whatever the case, the Cleveland Steamer is offensive, irreligious, completely politically incorrect and very funny in parts.

A lot of British humour is silly, nasty, infantile or a schoolboyish mixture of all three - hence the need to take it in measured doses. However, the feature on piles is hilarious as are several of the fake newspaper stories, making this discounted annual worth every discounted penny.

Drawn in the Beano fashion one expects a certain level of schoolboy humour that is a bit close to the bone [excuse the pun] but Five Knuckle Shuffle, despite the masturbatory title, is actually just a tad dull. I gather it is an annual or collection of a UK magzine called Viz: it's possible that read on a monthly basis in limited doses Viz is palatable but all at one go, in a large volume, the only reason your knuckles will be shuffling is to cover a yawn.½

Don't buy one. Buy several. You'll at least need one for at home, at work, in the car...

I've had my copy sat on my desk for months now and still dip into it almost daily for just the right expletive for a given occasion.

Fucking briliant. Hilarious. Strange. Disturbing.