As usual, leave it to the Yanks to carry on...

Or one Yank, if I may refer to a southern man by that name... Christophe the Insultor. http://www.insultor.com

He follows a calling higher than that of politics (but then again, any calling is higher than politics) - that of the personal, vitriolic, floral, and sometimes very graphic insult.

Woodrow P. Texas, Austin, TX

How true, how true. Alas for our orally-bankrupt politicians and their pith-poor progeny.

Niels, Bay St. Louis, MS (USA)

The exchange between Disraeli and Gladstone referred to never happened. It was actually between two less well known politicians.

Shahid Khan, London, England

eric from N.H.,

I enjoyed the reference to the Parliamentary exchange. I recall it as Gladstone to Disraeli thus: "Disraeli, your end will either come from the gallows, or of venereal disease." Disraeli responded, "That, my dear Gladstone depends on whether I embrace your principles, or your mistress."

Where are the masters of tort in politics today?

Karl K., Sarasota, FL

There was once an exchange in Parliament where one member said, "I trust, sir, that you wil either be hung or die of the pox."
The other replied, "That depends, sir, on whether I embrace your morals or your mistress."
Fisticuffs ensued. Then Black Rod hit them both over the head.

eric stanway, Fitzwilliam, United States/NH

Why you... you... you JOURNALIST!

Oh god I'm so sorry, I should never have said that. Please do accept my sincerest apologies. It was completely out of my character, I assure you all. It will never happen again, I promise you this. And to anyone else I have offended, I also extend my heartfelt sorrowfulness at any pain I have caused you.

We haven't had any good apologies from the government lately, either.

Tim, Winnipeg, Canada

Dear Mr MacIntyre,

Re Margaret Thatcher: you forgot to mention "The Immaculate Misconception" - courtesy of Norman St John Stevas.

Sonny, Crawley, UK

Do I agree? Does fifty lbs.of flour make a big biscuit?

Mark Hackett, Jackson, Ca.

Perhaps the natural evolution of the insult is to a more subtle intellectual sarcasm. Certainly use of foreign expressions can add spice, especially when they seem innocuous. The Chinese observation of ‘lackey’s running dog’ doesn’t quite seem to have the bark here in translation.

Those preferring a dig which rankles could issue an insult in an obscure language and then ‘loosely’ translate as a mild compliment, hoping that the victim will repeat it, thinking it to be such.

Crude insults lack the finesse which their serious use demands. Or perhaps the concept of an insult is now too judgmental for a world. rife with correctness.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

Most entertaining. Pity, though, that you didn't include the delightful 'Giovanni' insult directed at John Prescott.

And I don't think you are quite right about British insults and mothers. Very recently a friend who had retired after a long teaching career told me that, in his experience, there was two words which were virtually guaranteed to start a fight. They were: 'Your mum...'

Andrew May, Wimbledon, UK

What century do you currently live in, Peter?

Chris, Tidewater, VA

It occurs to me that the loss of manners might be directly responsible for the inability to express truly biting insults. When rudeness is part of the everyday routine, calling someone a 'toffee-nosed, malodorous, pervert' is shrugged off, since it seems so ineffectual. If everyone had more manners, the insult would carry so much more meaning.

Dave, Owego, NY, US

Equally, Ben Macintyre could well have taken effective examples of flaming political invective from both George Galloway and Aneurin Bevan. Before the Senate, Galloway is reported to have referred contemptuously to this: "lick-spittle Republican committee."
Aneurin Bevan, the master of political invective denounced his opponents as both "Gadarene Swine" and being "lower than vermin".......two men, both considerable masters of vitriolic political invective. Perhaps the list should be extended with reference to Tony Benn, also to the description of Hugh Gaitskell as a "desiccated calculating machine."

Nigel Hammond, Abingdon,

What an entertaining and instructive article, Ben. I remember times, while studying or working in other countries, when I accidentally, and loudly (I'm an American) misspoke a phrase which first caused anger, but then amusement at my verbal blundering.

In Colombia, I once said "No tengo gusto de los preservativos en mi alimento," which I thought meant, "I don't like preservatives in my food," but to my amused audience's ears, I said "I don't like condoms in my food," "preservativos" being condoms. When my amused hosts informed me of my mistake, I said, in Spanish, what I thought to be the equivalent of "Oh, I'm so embarassed," which was "¡Oh, soy así que embarazado." - I didn't know that "embarazado" meant "pregnant" in Spanish.

My amused host pointed out that I was pregnant because I didn't use condoms. I was a great source of comedy (more than rudeness) to my Colombian friends.

I've made other blunders in Chinese, and Japanese which are too rude to mention here.

Karl Kauffman, Sarasota, FL

Wasn't it Michael Spicer who said that "the trouble with Michael is that he had to buy his own furniture".

Am I alone in finding the "savaged by a dead sheep” line memorably unamusing?

MTK, London,

“seditious blasphemer”
Must have been the honours list.

JonB, Glasgow, UK

So would you say that we have not a Parliament, but a maundering and dishevelled kakistocracy with the ability of a mindless coroboree of baboons?

Frank Upton, Solihull,

How did Dr. Johbson stick the boot in the 17@ when he waas not born till 1709? Always verify your referenes mate.

Peter Croft, Cambridge, UK

Wonderful

Patrick Hewett, Patumahoe, New Zealand

For automated Shakespearean insults, check out:

http://viper.infotech.monash.edu.au/~davids/cgi-bin/ShakespeareanInsult.cgi

David Squire, Melbourne, Australia