Books with title The devil's dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary is an acerbic, confrontational wordplay, offering some 1,600 wickedly clever definitions to the vocabulary of everyday life. Little is sacred and few are safe, for Ambrose Bierce targets just about any pursuit, from matrimony to immortality, that allows our willful failings and excesses to shine forth. The Devil's Dictionary, a satirical book first published in 1911, offers reinterpretations of terms in the English language which lampoon cant and political doublespeak. (Text refers to a previous edition)

Ambrose Bierce, in this hilarious book, satirizes all aspects of human behavior. This lexicon that he has created provides often true insight in to the tacit meanings of otherwise benign words. For example, PRAY, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. There is still no good competitor for the Devil's Dictionary, where sheer honesty abounds. The definition of insurance, according to Bierce, is "an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table." And that's just one of hundreds of witty definitions. This collection is classic that belongs in any library. Ambrose Bierce, like Mark Twain and few other of his contempories, had a biting wit that always left a mark.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

In the days before ‘bathroom readers’ were articles in newsprints called ‘cynic columns’ where humor mixed with wit mixed with ridiculed events of the day were both laughed and scoffed at. Ambrose Bierce decided it would be a great laugh to write a dictionary of his favorite words and their ‘truest’ definitions. Mixed in to words are descriptions in prose and humoristic poetry because words mean more than they are. This book is a jab at the stoic and content and a riot of joy, humor and all around ridiculousness. As the title indicates, only someone with devilish intent would dare cross so many moral boundaries. Includes a biography of the Author as well as classic art images.

The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical reference book written by Ambrose Bierce. The book offers reinterpretations of terms in the English language, lampooning cant and political doublespeak, as well as other aspects of human foolishness and frailty. A number of the definitions are accompanied by satiric verses, many of which are signed with comic pseudonyms such as Salder Bupp and Orm Pludge; the most frequently appearing contributor is that learned and ingenious cleric, Father Gassalasca Jape, S.J., whose lines bear his initials.