Books with title The Devil’s Dictionary

"THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY" is a classic satire in the form of a dictionary on which Bierce worked for decades. It was originally published in 1906 as The Cynic's Word Book before being retitled in 1911. A number of the definitions are accompanied by satiric verses, many of which are signed with comic pseudonyms. It offers reinterpretations of terms in the English language which lampoon cant and political double-talk as well as other aspects of human foolishness and frailty. The definitions provide satirical, witty and often politically pointed representations of the words that is seeks to "define". The Devil's Dictionary has inspired many imitations both in its day and more recently.

Entries A-J. The Devil's Dictionary was begun in a weekly paper in 1881 and was continued in a desultory way at long intervals until 1906. The author hopes to be held guiltless by those to whom the work is addressed: enlightened souls who prefer dry wines to sweet, sense to sentiment, wit to humor, and clean English to slang. A conspicuous and, it is hoped, not unpleasant feature of the book is its abundant illustrative quotations from eminent poets, chief of whom is that learned and ingenius cleric Father Gassalasca Jape, SJ, whose lines bear his initials. Ambrose Bierce disappeared in Mexico in 1913.

Regarded as one of the most influential American journalists of the late 19th and early 20th century, Ambrose Bierce was the Civil War veteran who was best known for his stories of the American Civil War and for his satirical witticisms. Written over several decades “The Devil’s Dictionary” is the ultimate collection of his lexicon of satirical definitions. Bierce’s earliest known definition was first published in 1867. Over the next several decades he would add numerous definitions to his satirical essays, in his weekly columns “The Town Crier” and “Prattle”, and in his personal letters. These definitions were first collected in book form in 1906 as “The Cynic’s Word Book” and later expanded as “The Devil’s Dictionary” in 1911. Not a real dictionary, but rather a lampoon of the English language, “The Devil’s Dictionary” provides satirical, witty and often politically pointed representations of the words that it seeks to “define”. Regarded by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration as one of “The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature”, “The Devil’s Dictionary” is a unique masterpiece of cynical wit. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

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 dictionary written by American Civil War soldier, wit, and writer Ambrose Bierce consisting of common words followed by humorous and satirical definitions. The lexicon was written over three decades as a series of installments for magazines and newspapers. Bierce’s witty definitions were imitated and plagiarized for years before he gathered them into books, first as The Cynic's Word Book in 1906 and then in a more complete version as The Devil's Dictionary in 1911.Initial reception of the book versions was mixed. In the decades following, however, the stature of The Devil's Dictionary grew. It has been widely quoted, frequently translated, and often imitated, earning a global reputation. In the 1970s, The Devil's Dictionary was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration. It has been called "howlingly funny", and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig wrote that The Devil's Dictionary is "probably the most brilliant work of satire written in America. And maybe one of the greatest in all of world literature."

Ambrose Bierce, journalist and former soldier for the Union army in the Civil War, began writing satirical definitions for the San Francisco Wasp in 1881, and later for the San Francisco Examiner, launching a journalistic career that would see him liked and loathed in equal measure and earn him the title of “the wickedest man in San Francisco.” A contemporary of Mark Twain, Bierce brought his biting humor to bear on spoof definitions of everyday words, writing deliberate mistranslations of the vocabulary of the establishment, the church, and the politics of his day, and shining a sardonic light on hypocrisy and deception. These columns formed the beginnings of a dictionary, first published in 1906 as The Cynic’s Word Book, which stopped at the letter L, and five years later as a full A–Z text known as The Devil's Dictionary. More than one hundred years later, Bierce’s redefinitions still give us pause for thought: interpreting reporter, for example, as “a writer who guesses his way to the truth and dispels it with a tempest of words”; un-american as “wicked, intolerable, heathenish”; and politics as “the conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” This timely new edition of Bierce’s irreverent and provocative dictionary is the perfect gift for misanthropes and word lovers alike.

This carefully crafted ebook: "The Devil's Dictionary (or The Cynic's Wordbook: Unabridged with all the Definitions)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. The book is a classic satire in the form of a dictionary on which Bierce worked for decades. It was originally published in 1906 as The Cynic's Word Book before being retitled in 1911. A number of the definitions are accompanied by satiric verses, many of which are signed with comic pseudonyms. It offers reinterpretations of terms in the English language which lampoon cant and political double-talk as well as other aspects of human foolishness and frailty. The definitions provide satirical, witty and often politically pointed representations of the words that is seeks to "define". The Devil's Dictionary has inspired many imitations both in its day and more recently. Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (1842 – 1914?) was an American satirist, critic, poet, editor and journalist. Bierce became a prolific author of short stories often humorous and sometimes bitter or macabre. His dark, sardonic views and vehemence as a critic earned him the nickname, "Bitter Bierce".