"It was different in the 80's," said my quipster friend, who visited Indochine often during that decade.

Utterly devoted, and a dependable quipster and sometimes prankster.

Vince Leo from Quipster has described the film as "a perfect example of a coming-of-age film".

She is a raucous quipster who antagonizes almost no one and disarms almost everyone with political barbs.

Merry Mcgee, the valiant quipster, with a hole in his head and the horrid conviction it was bleeding in there.

Kruk is the team quipster, catcher Darren Daulton the poster boy, pitcher Larry Andersen the clown.

Kay, a 40-year-old failed concert pianist and resident "library lady," is part disheveled klutz and part borscht belt quipster.

Mr. Fenwick is a kinetic, sharply tailored quipster and a font of colorful profanities who employees say can direct his passions abusively or inspirationally.

He is friendly and obliging, but he is not a quipster, like Gordon, or even colorful and somewhat antagonistic, like the defending champion, Tony Stewart.

Baldish, garrulous, still a sometime quipster ("I went through life as the 'player to be named later' ") Garagiola unabashedly uses his celebrity, his wit, his compassion to do good.

"Mr Swenson jumped up on my seat," records the Mail's roving quipster with his trademark honorific, "tousled my own (receding) hairline and pushed his crotch towards my face."

And the mysterious Dr. Phallus, an erudite quipster whose sole mission in life is to educate the hero about his true sexual desires (as if the Judy Garland poster was not signal enough).

Better yet, in spite of comedian Norm MacDonald burning down his house late last month, Griffin still remains "good friends" with our favorite Canadian quipster who is the brother of a well-respected journalist.

I guess it's better than scenes set in a psychiatrist's office, ponderous voice-overs, that weird unseen neighbor in "Home Improvement" or any of the other devices that turn internal monologue into quipster dialogue.

What, if not a critic, was the quipster who, a few years ago, caught a misguided out-of-town production of "Richard III" starring Michael Moriarty, and afterward felt compelled to rename it "Richard Ay-yi-yi."

The passionate feelings spring from many sources: Democrats have hope in their hearts for the first time in four national elections; Republicans are rallying to a serious threat; there's that merry quipster, Ross Perot, and deep fears about the economy.

The undergraduate men's newspaper is The Commentator, and the undergraduate women's The Observer, as well as a co-ed satirical news site The Quipster; there is also a student newspaper (in addition to a number of law journals) at Cardozo.

Take a plea the other night by Ann W. Richards, the Texas Governor and champion Democratic quipster, who was in San Francisco to help raise money for Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, the party's candidates for California's two Senate seats.

Richie Ashburn, the Hall of Fame center fielder who starred for the Philadelphia Phillies' pennant-winning Whiz Kids of 1950 and concluded his career as the lone All-Star and designated quipster for the original Mets of 1962, died yesterday.

He's never been one to take a page from anyone else's book, but just last week, upon hearing Jim Courier link his return to the No. 1 ranking to his decision to again make tennis "the essence of his life," the quipster from Las Vegas experienced the thrill of recognition.

From the "we begin bombing in five minutes" department: It seems that Mr. Pataki could have learned a few things from another Republican quipster, Ronald Reagan, who once caused an uproar by joking during a microphone test that he was about to start an air attack on Russia.

Utah Jazz vs. Portland Trail Blazers - Frank Layden, the Utah Jazz coach and quipster, was being quite honest when he said that this series, which opens in Portland tonight, would determine which team winds up the sacrificial lamb for the Lakers in the conference semifinal.

Practiced and confident as a quipster, a talent born and nurtured on television shows she shared with Sonny Bono in the early 1970's and later was a host of on her own, Cher is less adept at handling questions that begin with "Why" or "How," particularly those about the nature of her fame.