Book excerpt: The ultimate compendium of crisp one-liners, knockout jokes, droll asides and universal truths collected over the years by the creators of QI. 'You know 'that look' women get when they want sex? Me neither.' Steve Martin; 'You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from nesting in your hair.' Chinese proverb; 'The Beatles are dying in the wrong order.' Victor Lewis-Smith; 'Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.' Mark Twain; 'Depend on the rabbit's foot if you will, but remember: it didn't work for the rabbit.' R.E. Shay; 'If it were not for quotations, conversation between gentlemen would be an endless series of 'what-ho's!'' P. G.Wodehouse