The JOLLY BOOK contains 1,000 of the best English and American jokes in English and Serbian, side by side.

In selecting humorous sayings and jokes, my principle criteria were: the universality of their humour, the specific quality of the English and American humour, and variety.

Though I had over 20,000 humorous sayings, toasts and jokes at my disposal, I limited my selection to 1,000 mainly in order to meet the first criterion.

Having respect for your precious time and your genuine sense of humour, I did not wish to make a big book with relatively few really good humorous sayings and jokes.

This is a small book which contains a high percentage of real gems of humour and wit.

The second criterion was to ensure the presence of sayings and jokes which are specific to English and American humour, i.e. sayings and jokes that make the English and Americans laugh.

The third criterion was to ensure that these sayings and jokes covered numerous fields of social life.

It is also necessary to mention that this book does not include swear words, or 'dirty' jokes.

 

Marijan Franjić
Beograd, 1994.