The Unabridged Devil's DictionaryIf we could only put aside our civil pose and say what we really thought, the world would be a lot like the one alluded to in The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. There, a bore is "a person who talks when you wish him to listen," and happiness is "an agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another." This is the most comprehensive, authoritative edition ever of Ambrose Bierce’s satiric masterpiece. It renders obsolete all other versions that have appeared in the book’s ninety-year history. |
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... things as they are, not as they ought to be. There can be no mistaking that this definition, lodged between “Curse” and “Damn” in the first edition of his celebrated dictionary (nestled somewhat innocuously herein between “Custard” and ...
... thing wears thin—for when one's cynicism becomes perfect and absolute, there is no longer anything amusing in the stupidity and hypocrisy of the herd. It is all to be expected—what else could human nature produce?—so irony annuls itself ...
... thing to temporarily suspend this pledge. I will not utter a profane word—unless in sport—without having been previously vexed at something. I will make use of no tobacco in any of its forms, unless I think it would be kind of nice. I ...
... thing complete if I should want to make a book of it. I guess the Examiner isn't running much of it, nor much of anything of mine.” Quite simply, he ended with “Accuse,” the word that follows the very first word that appeared in the ...
... things. Abada, n. An African animal having three horns, two on the head and one on the nape of the neck by which to hang up the carcass after the head has been removed. In those varieties that are not hunted by man, this third horn is ...
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Gestalt Therapy and Human Nature: Evolutionary Psychology Applied John Wymore No preview available - 2006 |