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Ambrose Bierce Quotes - Page 23

All Quotes Accidents Adversity Affection Age Aging Alcohol Army Art Assumption Atheism Attitude Authority Beauty Belief Boundaries Business Certainty Change Character Cheating Childhood Children Choices Church Clarinet Confusion Cooking Country Creation Critics Culture Cynicism Death Democracy Desire Devil Diplomacy Disappointment Doubt Drinking Dying Earth Education Ego Energy Envy Eternity Evidence Evil Excellence Expectations Failure Faith Fame Family Fashion Fear Feelings Finance Food Friendship Funeral Funny Future Genius Giving God Gold Growth Guilt Happiness Hatred Heart Heaven Hell History Home Honor Hope House Ignorance Imagination Independence Injustice Insanity Inspiration Inspirational Joy Judging Judgment Justice Kindness Knowledge Labor Language Latin Leadership Learning Liars Liberty Life Literature Logic Losing Love Lying Marriage Math Military Money Morality Motherhood Music Nature Nihilism Office Opportunity Optimism Passion Past Patriotism Peace Philosophy Pleasure Politics Power Prejudice Preparation Pride Property Prosperity Purpose Quality Reality Religion Responsibility Revenge Revolution Running Sacrifice School Science Silence Sin Skins Son Soul Spirituality Spring Stupidity Style Success Suffering Taxes Temptation Theology Time Truth Understanding Violence Virtue Wall War Water Wealth Wife Wine Wisdom Work Worship Writing Youth

RECREATION, n. A particular kind of dejection to relieve a general fatigue.

RECREATION, n. A particular kind of dejection to relieve a general fatigue.

Kindness, Recreation, Fatigue

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.194, University of Georgia Press

CONSOLATION, n. The knowledge that a better man is more unfortunate than yourself.

Knowledge, Men, Consolation

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.41, University of Georgia Press

PHRENOLOGY, n. The science of picking the pocket through the scalp. It consists in locating and exploiting the organ that one is a dupe with.

Science, Pockets, Phrenology

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.181, University of Georgia Press

POETRY, n. A form of expression peculiar to the Land beyond the Magazines.

Expression, Land, Poetry

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.166, 谷月社

Doubt, indulged and cherished, is in danger of becoming denial; but if honest, and bent on thorough investigation, it may soon lead to full establishment of the truth.

Doubt, Denial, May

OBSOLETE, adj. No longer used by the timid. Said chiefly of words. A word which some lexicographer has marked obsolete is ever thereafter an object of dread and loathing to the fool writer . . .

Lexicographer, Fool, Loathing

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.152, 谷月社

TZETZE (or TSETSE) FLY, n. An African insect ("Glossina morsitans") whose bite is commonly regarded as nature's most efficacious remedy for insomnia, though some patients prefer that of the American novelist ("Mendax interminabilis").

Nature, Insomnia, Novelists

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.226, 谷月社

A trite popular saying, or proverb. (Figurative and colloquial.) So called because it makes its way into a wooden head. Following are examples of old saws fitted with new teeth.

Example, Teeth, Way

Ambrose Bierce (2012). “The Devil's Dictionary”, p.114, Courier Corporation

You cannot adopt politics as a profession and remain honest.

Political, Liberty, Libertarian

Cat: a soft indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.

Nature, Cat, Circles

Ambrose Bierce (2006). “Terror by Night: Classic Ghost and Horror Stories”, p.9, Wordsworth Editions

HERMIT, n. A person whose vices and follies are not sociable.

Vices, Hermits, Folly

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.110, University of Georgia Press

WEATHER, n. The climate of an hour. A permanent topic of conversation among persons whom it does not interest, but who have inherited the tendency to chatter about it from naked arboreal ancestors whom it keenly concerned. The setting up of official weather bureaus and their maintenance in mendacity prove that even governments are accessible to suasion by the rude forefathers of the jungle.

Weather, Government, Rude

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.232, 谷月社

PHYSIOGNOMY, n. The art of determining the character of another by the resemblances and differences between his face and our own, which is the standard of excellence.

Art, Character, Differences

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.181, University of Georgia Press

PLEONASM, n. An army of words escorting a corporal of thought.

Army, Escorting

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.184, University of Georgia Press

BAIT, n. A preparation that renders the hook more palatable. The best kind is beauty.

Beauty, Kindness, Preparation

Ambrose Bierce (2013). “Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce (Illustrated)”, p.2361, Delphi Classics

Botany, n. The science of vegetables - those that are not good to eat, as well as those that are. It deals largely with their flowers, which are commonly badly designed, inartistic in color, and ill-smelling.

Flower, Color, Vegetables

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.28, University of Georgia Press

IGNORAMUS, n. A person unacquainted with certain kinds of knowledge familiar to yourself, and having certain other kinds that you know nothing about.

Knowledge, Science, Kind

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.117, University of Georgia Press

FEMALE, n. One of the opposing, or unfair, sex.

Sex, Science, Female

Ambrose Bierce (2009). “The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Large Bold Edition”, p.82, ReadHowYouWant.com

ASPERSE, v.t. Maliciously to ascribe to another vicious actions which one has not had the temptation and opportunity to commit.

Opportunity, Temptation, Action

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.15, 谷月社

NEPOTISM, n. Appointing your grandmother to office for the good of the party.

Party, Grandmother, Office

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.149, 谷月社

HURRICANE, n. An atmospheric demonstration once very common but now generally abandoned for the tornado and cyclone. The hurricane is still in popular use in the West Indies and is preferred by certain old- fashioned sea-captains.

Science, West Indies, Sea

Ambrose Bierce (2009). “The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Super Large 18pt Edition”, p.147, ReadHowYouWant.com

BATH, n. A kind of mystic ceremony substituted for religious worship, with what spiritual efficacy has not been determined.

Spiritual, Religious, Religion

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.18, 谷月社

MUMMY, n. - an ancient Egyptian handy, too, in museums in gratifying the vulgar curiosity that serves to distinguish man from the lower animals.

Men, Animal, Museums

Ambrose Bierce (2016). “The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World”, p.148, 谷月社

GOOD, adj. Sensible, madam, to the worth of this present writer. Alive, sir, to the advantages of letting him alone.

Alive, Advantage, Sensible

Ambrose Bierce (2001). “The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary”, p.98, University of Georgia Press

IMPOSTOR n. A rival aspirant to public honors.

Honor, Rivals

Ambrose Bierce (2009). “The Devil's Dictionary: Easyread Super Large 20pt Edition”, p.190, ReadHowYouWant.com

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