Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon.

A common feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm—"in satire, irony is militant"—but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve of (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to attack.

Satire is nowadays found in many artistic forms of expression, including literature, plays, commentary, and media such as lyrics.

The word satire comes from the Latin word satur and the subsequent phrase lanx satura. Satur meant "full," but the juxtaposition with lanx shifted the meaning to "miscellany or medley": the expression lanx satura literally means "a full dish of various kinds of fruits."

Dieter Nuhr (born October 29, 1960 in Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German comedian. From 1981 to 1989, Nuhr studied art and history at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen. From 1982 to 1987 he attended the University of Duisburg-Essen, where he studied to become a teacher. As of 2010, Nuhr lives in Ratingen, North Rhine-Westphalia.

From 1982 to 1992, he was an active artist, and several of his works were exhibited in the Rhineland. In 1987 he appeared for the first time as a cabarettist, and in 1992 he arranged his first solo stage program. He has since gained notoriety for his numerous television appearances on Quatsch Comedy Club (Channel Pro7) and 7 Tage, 7 Köpfe (lit. 7 days, 7 heads), Channel RTL.

Nuhr is regarded as a mediator between classical comedy and intelligent Stand-up comedy. In his work, he gives a critical glance to social behaviour in society and media, often satirising relationships and families. Nuhr has also been known to caricature the typical German know-it-all. A typical example is his famous saying that is frequently quoted in forums and Newsgroups due to its very provocative nature: "Wenn man keine Ahnung hat: Einfach mal Fresse halten," which translates to, "If you have no idea: just keep your mouth shut."

Ingo Appelt (born 11 December 1961 in Innsbruck) is an Austrian bobsledder who competed from the late 1980s to early 1992.

He was Bobsleigh World Cup combined men's champion in 1987-8, and four-man champion in 1987-8 and 1988-9. Competing in two Winter Olympics, Appelt won the gold medal in the four-man event at Albertville in 1992. He also won a bronze medal in the four-man event at the 1990 FIBT World Championships in St. Moritz. Appelt retired from bobsledding at the 1992 games.

Appelt became a Member of Tyrolean Parliament for the Freedom Party of Austria, but meanwhile he works again as a jeweller and jewellery designer in Fulpmes.

Dave Davis (b. April 28, 1942) was a professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). He grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Beginning his PBA career in 1964, the left-hander won 18 PBA Tour titles. He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1978. Davis won multiple titles in a season four times, including an amazing six titles in the 1967 season alone. The 1967 season would see him win the PBA National Championship on his way to Player of the Year honors. He also won the PBA National Championship in 1965, plus two Tournament of Champions titles (1968 and 1975). As a PBA Senior Tour bowler, Davis won back-to-back titles in the USBC Senior Masters (1995 and 1996).

In addition, Davis served the PBA in various positions on the Executive Board and Tournament Committee. He was ranked #19 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years."

For a brief period, Davis spent time in the TV broadcast booth, alongside play-by-play announcer Chris Schenkel. After the death of Schenkel's long-time broadcast partner, Billy Welu, in 1974, Davis and Dick Weber shared analyst duties on ABC-TV's Professional Bowlers Tour until Nelson Burton Jr. was hired as a full-time replacement in 1975.

Stewart Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director. He made his name in the mid 1990s as one half of the radio duo Lee and Herring, a popular success followed through with extensive touring to built up a loyal live following. He gave up comedy in the early 2000s when he became disillusioned by the business and believed he was doomed to be a cult act with limited appeal who had reached the extent of any potential audience. Lee returned to stand up after co-writing and co-directing the surprise mock Broadway hit Jerry Springer - The Opera. Since then he has returned to the live circuit and though BBC and C4 specials and series, has rebuilt a niche audience and a reputation as an anti populist, anti "after the pub" comedian.

He remains a significant voice in UK stand up despite his refusal to appear on the panel shows that have seen many of his contemporaries eclipse him in ticket sales, if not critical acclaim. Although Lee's audience figures are comparatively low, he usually tours to 400-600 capacity venues and standing outside the comedy mainstream, he is well regarded by critics and has been a regular pundit on BBC political programming. In December 2011 he won the award for best male television comic for his series Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle which also won best comedy entertainment programme at the 2011 British Comedy Awards. A 2009 article in The Times referred to him as "the comedian's comedian, and for good reason" and named him "face of the decade". His stand-up features frequent use of "repetition, call-backs, nonchalant delivery and deconstruction", a device he jokingly ascribes to his tedious, exacting middle-class persona.