Keeping their wits about them
王尔德当选“最幽默风趣的英国人” 丘吉尔排第五名 
 
Playwright Oscar Wilde was named in a poll as = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Britain's greatest wit.
 
He even managed to mutter on his death bed "Either those curtains go or I do."
 
Second on the list is a comedian. He had engraved on his tombstone the epitaph "I told you I was ill."
 
In the Top 10 of famous wits, wartime leader Winston Churchill made it to number five.
 
When accused by Labor parliamentarian Bessie Braddock of being drunk, he said: "Bessie, you're ugly. And tomorrow morning I will be sober but you will still be ugly."
 
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was the highest ranked woman in the poll. She is more renowned for her steely personality than her roustabout humor.
 
She once quipped: "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."
 
Oscar Wilde  - was an 19th century Irish writer whose works include the play The Importance of Being Earnest and the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.
 
wit - The natural ability to perceive and understand; intelligence.

 mutter
1. To speak indistinctly in low tones.
2. To complain or grumble morosely.

death bed - dying, almost dying.
 
epitaph -An inscription on a tombstone in memory of the one buried there.
 
steely - Resembling steel, as in color or hardness: steely eyes. Tough woman.  Like steel, as in very strong , in this case her personality is strong.

roustabout
1. A laborer employed for temporary or unskilled jobs, as in an oil field. Jokes about unskilled jobs.

quip Words or actions intended to excite laughter or amusement