I can’t resist to put in the following quote by Oscar Wilde: 

“It is clear that humour is far superior to humor.”- Oscar Wilde

(In fact, I had to tell my American spellchecker on my Mac to buzz off!)

Of course, England, or rather Great Britain, doesn’t have the monopoly on humour - as I mentioned earlier, other nations certainly do share this ability. However, the book The Development of English Humor Part One by Louis Camian, says it was the British who gave a name to it. (Although it might also be interesting to learn that its root is said to be in ancient Greek, which states that a mix of fluids known as humours - meaning literally juice or sap, metaphorically flavour - controlled human health and emotion). Some say, humour is a birthright of the British. Whatever your thoughts, you cannot argue that humour has deep roots in the very being of the British. So why is that?

British humour, it is thought, was born out of a social ineptness and a loathing for oneself. When in contact with

the British you are well advised to take into account the following:

• They don’t like you, in fact they’re scared of you!

• They don’t like themselves!

In addition to that, to be a humorist, it is said that one has to have the following two skills:

• A supple sense of the actualities of things

• A command of ones own reactions

Over the years, the British have polished these two mental traits to perfection. This means they can respond quickly and wittily on the spot to situations.

Combine these four elements, and you have an excellent foundation for typical British humour.