Will Cuppy

Will Cuppy – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the wit and wisdom of Will Cuppy (1884–1949), American humorist and satirist. Learn about his life, works, style, and a curated selection of his most memorable quotes.

Introduction

William Jacob “Will” Cuppy, born August 23, 1884 and dead September 19, 1949, was an American humorist, critic, and satirist known for blending scholarship and silliness. He wrote with a keen eye for absurd detail, often taking on topics like nature, animals, history, and human foibles. Though never a blockbuster name in his lifetime, Cuppy’s gentle wit and precise irony have earned him an enduring place in the tradition of American comic nonfiction.

In this article, we trace his journey from Indiana boy to New York humorist, examine his style and major works, and offer a number of his pithy quotes that reflect his worldview.

Early Life and Family

Will Cuppy was born in Auburn, Indiana on August 23, 1884.

Young Cuppy described his mother as musically talented; he once pumped a pipe organ during church, and later joked about his membership in a whimsical “Guild of Former Pipe Organ Pumpers.”

He graduated from Auburn High School in 1902.

Youth and Education

After high school, Cuppy went to the University of Chicago, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1907. Record Herald and Daily News) and engaged in amateur theater.

In 1914, he formally completed a master’s thesis, The Elizabethan Conception of Prose Style.

Career and Achievements

Early Work & Journalism

In New York, to support himself, Cuppy worked in advertising copywriting while attempting to write plays. New York Tribune, a connection aided by his college friend Burton Rascoe.

From 1926 onward, Cuppy wrote a column for the New York Herald Tribune. The column, first called “Light Reading” and later “Mystery and Adventure,” ran for over two decades. In that time he reviewed more than 4,000 works of detective and mystery fiction.

Hermitage Period & Books

Citing hay fever, the noise of the city, and a longing for solitude, Cuppy lived in a modest shack on Jones Island (off Long Island) from about 1921 to 1929. He called this period his “hermit” years. How to Be a Hermit (Or, A Bachelor Keeps House) (1929).

After returning to more urban life, Cuppy continued writing, often working with his vast index card system — collecting facts, oddities, references — before constructing his essays. His writing combined research with irony and light mockery.

His books include:

• How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes (1931)

• How to Become Extinct (1941)

• The Great Bustard and Other People (collection including How to Tell Your Friends from the Apes and How to Become Extinct) (1944)

• How to Attract the Wombat (published posthumously in 1949)

• His best-known work, The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody (1950), was incomplete at his death and later edited into print by his friend and literary executor, Fred Feldkamp.

• How to Get from January to December (1951), published posthumously, was also compiled by Feldkamp from Cuppy’s notes.

In The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, Cuppy humorously skewers historical figures, mixing factual detail with comedic asides and footnotes. For instance, after describing the Nile’s flooding and receding, he quips that “the whole countryside … is covered by Egyptologists.”

Later Years & Death

In his later years, Cuppy’s health declined, and he experienced depression. Facing financial and housing pressures, he took an overdose of sleeping pills, dying on September 19, 1949, at St. Vincent’s Hospital, New York City.

He was cremated and later buried beside his mother in Auburn, Indiana. His grave remained unmarked until 1985, when a headstone was erected calling him “American Humorist.”

After his death, recognition has grown. In 2003, the International Astronomical Union named an asteroid “15017 Cuppy” in his honor.

Historical Context and Contribution

Cuppy's career spanned the first half of the 20th century — a period when journalism, popular magazines, and mass literacy were flourishing in America. His style intersected with the era’s hunger for witty commentary, popular science, and accessible satire.

He bridged scholarly content and humor, making esoteric or factual material entertaining to general readers. In doing so, he anticipated later traditions of "popular science humor" and narrative nonfiction that combines knowledge with irony.

Though he never achieved vast fame in his lifetime, his influence persisted in the niche of literary humorists, and his books quietly inspired later writers who mix facts, footnotes, and comedic voice.

Personality and Talents

Scholarly Curiosity + Irony

Cuppy was methodical by temperament. He accumulated thousands of note cards filled with facts, reports, references, and marginalia before writing a single line. His essays often derive humor by juxtaposing earnest detail with tongue-in-cheek commentary.

He loved nature and animals, but treated them with a skeptical, amused eye. He could write about extinct species or lions with the same tone used for human foibles.

Reclusiveness & Hermit Ideals

Cuppy had a strong streak of recluse-mindedness. His years as a hermit on Jones Island reflect both his desire for solitude and his sensitivity to discomforts like hay fever or city noise. He relished quiet, reflection, and minimalism in his daily life.

Gentle Wit & Understated Satire

His humor does not deride brutally — it quietly undercuts. He is more likely to laugh at human pretensions, logical absurdities, or historical oddities than to assault characters. His tone is amiable, wry, and consistent.

Melancholy Underpinnings

Though known as a humorist, Cuppy was, at heart, somewhat melancholic. His later life was shadowed by depression, financial strain, and health decline. His self-effacing jokes sometimes mask deeper frustration or existential distance.

Famous Quotes by Will Cuppy

Here are some representative quotes that capture Cuppy’s wit and worldview (sourced from reliable collections):

“We all make mistakes, but intelligence enables us to do it on purpose.” “Never call anyone a baboon unless you are sure of your facts.” “Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential.” “Some people lose all respect for the lion unless he devours them instantly. There is no pleasing some people.” “Just when you're beginning to think pretty well of people, you run across somebody who puts sugar on sliced tomatoes.” “The trouble with the dictionary is that you have to know how a word is spelled before you can look it up to see how it is spelled.” “Aristotle was famous for knowing everything. He taught that the brain exists merely to cool the blood and is not involved in the process of thinking. This is true only of certain persons.” “A hermit is simply a person to whom civilization has failed to adjust itself.” “Humor springs from rage, hay fever, overdue rent and miscellaneous hell.” “My philosophy of life can be summed up in four words: It can't be helped.”

These lines encapsulate Cuppy’s sensibility: smart, slightly bemused, and observant of both human and natural absurdity.

Lessons from Will Cuppy

1. Combine knowledge and levity
   You don’t need to choose between learning and laughter — Cuppy’s work shows they can enrich each other.

2. Observe the small absurdities
   Much of his humor comes from noticing what often goes unnoticed — a trait useful for any writer or thinker.

3. Respect solitude for creativity
   Cuppy’s productivity increased when he withdrew from distractions; solitude can help deepen thought.

4. Tone matters
   He achieved satire without cruelty. It’s possible to critique without demeaning.

5. Persist quietly
   He worked steadily, often behind the scenes, without seeking grand fame — yet his legacy endured.

Conclusion

Will Cuppy may not be a household name today, but his style, humor, and rigorous wit remain instructive and delightful. He showed that commentary about history, nature, or science can be simultaneously informative and amused, serious and self-aware.

His quotations remind us that intelligence, irony, and humility can coexist. And his life suggests that even a modest, reclusive figure can leave a lasting mark by writing carefully, thinking deeply, and laughing quietly at the world.