''Mad Libs'' is a

word game Word games are spoken, board, card or video games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties. Word games are generally used as a source of entertainment, but can additionally serve an educational purpose. Young ...

created by Leonard Stern and Roger Price. It consists of one player prompting others for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story before reading aloud. The game is frequently played as a

party game Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillia ...

or as a

pastime A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

. It can be categorized as a

phrasal template A phrasal template is a phrase-long collocation that contains one or several empty slots which may be filled by words to produce individual phrases. Description A phrasal template is a phrase-long collocation that contains one or several empty ...

game. The game was invented in the United States, and more than 110 million copies of ''Mad Libs'' books have been sold since the series was first published in 1958.

History

Mad Libs was invented in 1953 by Leonard Stern and Roger Price. Stern and Price created the game, but could not agree on a name for their invention. No name was chosen until five years later (1958), when Stern and Price were eating

Eggs Benedict Eggs Benedict is a common American breakfast or brunch dish, consisting of two halves of an English muffin, each topped with Canadian bacon or sliced ham, a poached egg, and hollandaise sauce. The dish is believed to have originated in New Y ...

at a restaurant in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. While eating, the two overheard an argument at a neighboring table between a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

and an actor. According to Price and Stern, during the overheard argument, the actor said that he wanted to " ad-lib" an upcoming

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...

. The agent, who clearly disagreed with the actor's suggestion, retorted that ad-libbing an interview would be "mad". Stern and Price used that eavesdropped conversation to create, at length, the name "Mad Libs". In 1958, the duo released the first book of ''Mad Libs'', which resembled the earlier games of

consequences Consequence may refer to: Philosophy, science and social sciences * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * Consequent, in logic, the second half of a hypothetical proposition or consequences * Consequent ...

and exquisite corpse. Stern was head writer and comedy director for ''

The Steve Allen Show ''The Steve Allen Show'' is an American variety show hosted by Steve Allen from June 1956 to June 1960 on NBC, from September 1961 to December 1961 on ABC,

'', and suggested to the show's host that guests be introduced using Mad Libs completed by the audience. Four days after an episode introduced "our guest NOUN, Bob Hope", bookstores sold out of ''Mad Libs'' books. Stern and Price next partnered with

Larry Sloan Lloyd Lawrence "Larry" Sloan (1922 – October 14, 2012) was an American publisher of Mad Libs and co-founder of the Los Angeles publishing company, Price Stern Sloan, which opened in the early 1960s. Biography Sloan was born Lloyd Lawrence Sol ...

, a high school friend who was working as a

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...

at the time, to continue publishing ''Mad Libs''. Together, the three founded the publishing firm Price Stern Sloan in the early 1960s as a way to release ''Mad Libs''. In addition to releasing more than 70 editions of ''Mad Libs'' under Sloan, the company also published 150 softcover books, including such notable titles as ''

How to Be a Jewish Mother ''How to Be a Jewish Mother'' is a 1964 Jewish humor book by American humorist Dan Greenburg which was the best-selling non-fiction book in the United States in 1965, with 270,000 copies sold. Hackett, Alice PayneSeventy years of best sellers, 1 ...

'', first released in 1964; ''Droodles'', which was also created by Roger Price; ''The VIP Desk Diary''; and the series ''World's Worst Jokes''. Price died in 1990, and three years later, Sloan and Stern sold Price Stern Sloan, including ''Mad Libs'', to the former Putnam Berkley Group, which is now known as

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

. ''Mad Libs'' books are still published by

; however, all references to Price Stern Sloan have been removed from the company's official website. Stern died at age 88 on June 7, 2011, and Sloan on October 14, 2012. More than 110 million copies of ''Mad Libs'' have been sold since the game series was first published in 1958.

Predecessors of Mad Libs

It is unclear whether the creators of Mad Libs were aware of existing games and books similar to their own. One such game is ''Revelations About My Friends'', published anonymously by Fredrick A. Stokes Companies in New York in 1912. Like Mad Libs, the book invites the reader to choose words of different categories which then become part of a story. The nineteenth century parlor game "

Consequences Consequence may refer to: Philosophy, science and social sciences * Logical consequence, also known as a ''consequence relation'', or ''entailment'' * Consequent, in logic, the second half of a hypothetical proposition or consequences * Consequent ...

" and the surrealists' Exquisite Corpse game are also similar to Mad Libs.

Format

Mad Libs books contain

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

on each page with many key words replaced with blanks. Beneath each blank is specified a category, such as "

noun In grammar, a noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract thing, like living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, and ideas. A noun may serve as an Object (grammar), object or Subject (grammar), subject within a p ...

", "

verb A verb is a word that generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual description of English, the basic f ...

", "place", "celebrity", "exclamation" or "part of the body". One player asks the other players, in turn, to contribute a word of the specified type for each blank, but without revealing the context for that word. Finally, the completed story is read aloud. The result is usually a sentence which is comical, surreal and/or takes on somewhat of a

nonsensical Nonsense is a form of communication, via speech, writing, or any other formal logic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. In ordinary usage, nonsense is sometimes synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwrit ...

tone. Stern and Price's original Mad Libs book gives the following sentence as an example: After completion, they demonstrate that the sentence might read: "Ouch!" he said stupidly as he jumped into his convertible cat and drove off with his brave wife.

Books

The following is a list of most Mad Libs books in alphabetical order: *70s Mad Libs *80s Mad Libs *90s Mad Libs *A Very Mad Libs Christmas *Ad Lib Mad Libs *Aggretsuko Mad Libs *All I Want for Christmas Is Mad Libs *

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Mad Libs *Baby Shower Mad Libs *Barbie Mad Libs *Bee Movie Mad Libs *Best of Mad Libs *Birthday Party Mad Libs *Bob's Burgers Mad Libs *Bob's Burgers Grand Re-Opening Mad Libs *Camp Daze Mad Libs *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Mad Libs *Christmas Cards Mad Libs *Christmas Carol Mad Libs *Christmas Cheer Mad Libs *Christmas Fun Mad Libs *Club Penguin Mad Libs *Clue Mad Libs *Cool Mad Libs *County Fair Mad Libs *Crazy Crafting Mad Libs *Dance Mania Mad Libs *Day of the Dead Mad Libs *DC Comics Super Hero Mad Libs *Dear Valentine Letters Mad Libs *Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs *Diary of a Wimpy Kid Mad Libs: Second Helping *Dinosaur Mad Libs *Dinosaur Mad Libs Junior *Disney Princess Mad Libs *Diva Girl Mad Libs *Doctor Who Mad Libs *Dog Ate My Mad Libs *Don't Get Mad Libs, Get Even Funnier *Dude, Where's My Mad Libs *Dungeons & Dragons Mad Libs *Dysfunctional Family Therapy Mad Libs *Easter Basket Mad Libs *Easter Eggstravaganza Mad Libs *Eid al-Fitr Mad Libs *Election Day Mad Libs *Escape from Detention Mad Libs *Family Guy Mad Libs *Family Tree Mad Libs *

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled '' ...

Mad Libs *Fear Factor Mad Libs: Ultimate Grossout! *Field Trip Mad Libs *Finding Dory Mad Libs *First Day of School Mad Libs *Foo Fighters Mad Libs *Frozen Mad Libs *Game Over! Mad Libs *Gender Reveal Party Mad Libs *Give Me Liberty or Give Me Mad Libs *Go for the Gold! Mad Libs *Gobble Gobble Mad Libs *Godzilla Mad Libs *Goofy Mad Libs *Grab Bag Mad Libs *Graduation Mad Libs *Grand Slam Mad Libs *Gravity Falls Mad Libs *Halloween Party Mad Libs *Hanukkah Mad Libs *Happily Ever Mad Libs *Happy Birthday Mad Libs *Happy Diwali Mad Libs *Happy Housewarming Mad Libs *Happy Howl-o-ween Mad Libs *Happy Kwanzaa Mad Libs *Happy New Year Mad Libs *History of the World Mad Libs *Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Mad Libs! *Hold Your Horses Mad Libs *Holly, Jolly Mad Libs *Home from School Mad Libs *Hot Off the Presses Mad Libs *Hot Wheels Mad Libs *How to Train Your Dragon Mad Libs *I Love Seattle Mad Libs *Impractical Jokers Mad Libs *

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Mad Libs *JoJo Siwa Mad Libs *Keep It Curious, George Mad Libs *Kid Libs Mad Libs *Kung Fu Panda Mad Libs *L.O.L. Surprise! Mad Libs *LEGO Mad Libs *LEGO Star Wars Mad Libs *Letters from Camp Mad Libs *Like Father, Like Mad Libs *Love the Earth Mad Libs *Luck of the Mad Libs *Lunar New Year Mad Libs *Mad About Animals Mad Libs *Mad About Mad Libs *Mad Libs 40th Anniversary Edition *Mad Libs 50th Anniversary Edition *Mad Libs for President *Mad Libs Forever *Mad Libs From Outer Space *Mad Libs in Love *Mad Libs Mania *Mad Libs on the Road *Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Libs *Mad Scientist Mad Libs *Mad, Madder, Maddest Mad Libs *Marvel's Avengers Mad Libs *Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Mad Libs *Marvel's Spider-Man Mad Libs *Masters of the Universe Mad Libs *Meow Libs *Merry Christmas! Love, Mad Libs *Merry Merry Mad Libs *Mickey Mouse Mad Libs *Minions Mad Libs *Mitzvah Mad Libs *Monopoly Mad Libs *Monster Mad Libs *Monster Mash Mad Libs *More Best of Mad Libs *Mother Knows Mad Libs *Much Ado About Mad Libs *Nickelodeon: Nick 90s Mad Libs *Night of the Living Mad Libs *Ninjas Mad Libs *Off-the-Wall Mad Libs *Olaf's Frozen Adventure Mad Libs * Operation Mad Libs *Over The Hedge Mad Libs *Parks and Recreation Mad Libs *Peace, Love, and Mad Libs *Penguin Classics Mad Libs *Pets-a-Palooza Mad Libs *Pirates Mad Libs *Pokémon Mad Libs *Presidential Mad Libs *Presidential Mad Libs *Pride Parade Mad Libs *Prime-Time Mad Libs *Rick and Morty Mad Libs *Roald Dahl: The Witches Mad Libs *Rock 'n' Roll Mad Libs *Scooby-Doo Mad Libs *Shark Attack! Mad Libs *Slam Dunk Mad Libs *Sleepover Party Mad Libs *

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...

Mad Libs *Son of Mad Libs *Sooper Dooper Mad Libs *

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

Mad Libs *Spy Mad Libs *Star Trek Mad Libs *Star Wars Mad Libs *Star Wars Droids Mad Libs *Star Wars: The Clone Wars Mad Libs *Steven Universe Mad Libs *Stocking Stuffer Mad Libs *Straight "A" Mad Libs *Supersize Mad Libs *Teachers Rule! Mad Libs *The Amazing World of Gumball Mad Libs *The Big Bang Theory Mad Libs *The Incredibles Mad Libs *The Muppets Mad Libs *The Office Mad Libs *The Original #1 Mad Libs *The Penguins of Madagascar Mad Libs *

The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American Superhero fiction, superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network. The show centers on Blossom ...

Mad Libs *The Wizard of Oz Mad Libs *The World of Roald Dahl Mad Libs *Totally Pink Mad Libs *Toy Story Mad Libs *Transformers BotBots Mad Libs *Travel Far and Mad Libs *Trick or Treat Mad Libs *Trolls Mad Libs *Undead Mad Libs *Unicorns, Mermaids, and Mad Libs *Unidentified Flying Mad Libs *Upside Down Mad Libs *Vacation Fun Mad Libs *Valentine's Day Mad Libs *Who Was? Mad Libs *Winter Games Mad Libs *Wonder Woman Mad Libs *

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

Mad Libs *You've Got Mad Libs

Other media

A game show called ''Mad Libs'', with some connections to the game, aired on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

in 1998 and 1999. Several imitations of Mad Libs have been created, most of them on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

. Imitation Mad Libs are sometimes used in educational settings to help teach kids the

parts of speech In grammar, a part of speech or part-of-speech (abbreviated as POS or PoS, also known as word class or grammatical category) is a category of words (or, more generally, of lexical items) that have similar grammatical properties. Words that are as ...

. Looney Labs released ''Mad Libs: The Game'', a card game, in 2016. There is also a Mad Libs mobile app.

References

{{reflist

External links

madlibs.com
Word games Book series introduced in 1958 Random text generation Comedy books