Ambrose Bierce's Devils Dictionary

Written between 1890 and 1906, this was a satirical work by one of America's greatest and most enigmatic humorists and commentators. The tone is cynical, pointed and rather nasty throughout, but no less true for all that. What follows are some of my favorite definitions. A complete on-line version can be found at http://www.online-literature.com/bierce/devilsdictionary/

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Science & Nature > Quotations

List added by irishgit on 3/26/2005

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IMPUNITY, n. Wealth.

4 reviews

5.00 Stars | 6 ratings

POLITICS, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.

3 reviews

4.80 Stars | 5 ratings

POSITIVE, adj. Mistaken at the top of one's voice.

3 reviews

4.80 Stars | 5 ratings

IDIOT, n. A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling.

2 reviews

4.75 Stars | 4 ratings

CONSERVATIVE, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.

2 reviews

4.50 Stars | 4 ratings

IMMIGRANT, n. An unenlightened person who thinks one country better than another.

3 reviews

4.20 Stars | 5 ratings

APPEAL, v.t. In law, to put the dice into the box for another throw.

3 reviews

4.00 Stars | 5 ratings

MAUSOLEUM, n. The final and funniest folly of the rich.

3 reviews

3.80 Stars | 5 ratings

DIPLOMACY, n. The patriotic art of lying for one's country.

1 review

4.67 Stars | 3 ratings

IMPIETY, n. Your irreverence toward my deity.

2 reviews

4.25 Stars | 4 ratings

REBEL, n. A proponent of a new misrule who has failed to establish it.

2 reviews

4.25 Stars | 4 ratings

WHEAT, n. A cereal from which a tolerably good whisky can with some difficulty be made, and which is used also for bread.

2 reviews

4.00 Stars | 4 ratings

ABDICATION, n. An act whereby a sovereign attests his sense of the high temperature of the throne.

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The Devil's Dictionary $3.65	Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary $9.99
Naturally Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations on Biology, Botany, Nature and Zoology, Second Edition $9.39	The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary $12.49
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Ambrose Bierce's Devils Dictionary

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