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    The Devil's Dictionary
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    The Devil's Dictionary
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    The Devil's Dictionary
    Ebook306 pages4 hours

    The Devil's Dictionary

    By Ambrose Bierce

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    About this ebook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStart Publishing LLC
    Release dateDec 12, 2012
    ISBN9781625582751
    Author

    Ambrose Bierce

    Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) was an American novelist and short story writer. Born in Meigs County, Ohio, Bierce was raised Indiana in a poor family who treasured literature and extolled the value of education. Despite this, he left school at 15 to work as a printer’s apprentice, otherwise known as a “devil”, for the Northern Indianan, an abolitionist newspaper. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted in the Union infantry and was present at some of the conflict’s most harrowing events, including the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. During the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in 1864, Bierce—by then a lieutenant—suffered a serious brain injury and was discharged the following year. After a brief re-enlistment, he resigned from the Army and settled in San Francisco, where he worked for years as a newspaper editor and crime reporter. In addition to his career in journalism, Bierce wrote a series of realist stories including “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Chickamauga,” which depict the brutalities of warfare while emphasizing the psychological implications of violence. In 1906, he published The Devil’s Dictionary, a satirical dictionary compiled from numerous installments written over several decades for newspapers and magazines. In 1913, he accompanied Pancho Villa’s army as an observer of the Mexican Revolution and disappeared without a trace at the age of 71.

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    Reviews for The Devil's Dictionary

    4/5

    571 ratings19 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Classic. Unfailingly hilarious.
    • 3/5
      By turns satirical, biting, vicious, nihilistic, racist, misogynistic, and downright mean. Exhausting on the whole I confess to not reading most of the poems, which I did not find amusing at all.
    • 5/5
      You can't go wrong with the Dover Thrift Edition of Bierce's caustic and hilarious 'dictionary'. An American classic. Read it.
    • 5/5
      You can't go wrong with the Dover Thrift Edition of Bierce's caustic and hilarious 'dictionary'. An American classic. Read it.
    • 4/5
      A classic.
    • 4/5
      If he wasn't dead, I would go to Mexico and look for Bierce. This year's junior research paper for English 11 was fun, because he was my topic. A lovely little book of definitions that I might not agree with but can sure respect his wit and humor. Makes me wonder what else I'm missing that he wrote.
    • 4/5
      Provided you have a pretty firm grounding in 19th century culture, The Devil's Dictionary is great fun--arguably one of the wittiest satires to come out of an entire generation. But it's not a book to read cover to cover. Keep it in your bathroom--or put it in your guest bedroom to help you weed out friends who don't have a sense of humor!
    • 4/5
      This is an irreverent literary foray from a curmudgeon who lived an adventurous life. His civil war experience was put to good use in his stories. His journalistic career lasted until 1913 when, at the age of seventy-one, he left for Mexico and was never heard from again. Fortunately he left behind this book of cynical and satirical definitions that show off the underside of humanity. Some definitions are short essays while others provide an opportunity for Bierce to display some verse. He even included some brief dialogues as demonstration of the definition when it took his fancy. Charmingly eccentric these definitions often lay bare the truth of human foibles. I find them worth reading and rereading as a reminder of what makes some of us tick.
    • 4/5
      A vintage collection of devilishly satirical definitions to common words. The perfect resource for the depraved wit seeking the perfect quotation.
    • 4/5
      This is the book that never seemed to end - reading it was a bit like the riddle of the frog who can only jump halfway to the finish line, never reaching it. Luckily, I did. This is the perfect book for nighttime reading. No plot, just interesting definitions to well known word. Some of the language and words were outdated or not used and I had to look it up in a dictionary (Regular), but most of Ambrose Beirce's observations are spot on. My favorite has to be the definition for Logic. A must read for those interested in American Writing.
    • 3/5
      First published in 1906 under the title "The Cynic's Word Book," "The Devil's Dictionary" is exactly what (both) the titles announce: a dictionary of words defined with a devilishly cynical mindset.I was researching 19th Century American writers when I found Ambrose Bierce, who immediately struck me as an interesting character. He was born in a small coal mining town and later became an apprentice at a printing shop, before enlisting in the Union army during the Civil War. His family life was tragic, and his literary life controversial. His later years are shrouded in mystery, as he disappeared without a trace into Mexico, and the date and circumstances of his death are completely unknown. My interest in Bierce led me to discovering his dictionary. I immediately loved the sound of the idea, and read it straight through one night with a cup of black coffee (I normally drink it sweetened, but bitter just seemed more appropriate).I didn't find this book as uproariously, timelessly hilarious as Amazon promised me I would.In fact, timeless is not a word that I would use to describe it. Maybe Amazon was referring to an edited version? Mine included a lot of words, jargon, lingo and references to sayings that went completely over my head as a reader in 2012. I'm sure that if I had been a reader in, rather, 1912, I would have marveled at Bierce's satiric wit and twists of phrases. But I found myself, at these instances, only wishing that the publisher had added in some enlightening notes.Bierce covers a wide array of poking fun. There are the politically-incorrect entries:- "ABORIGINES, n. Persons of little worth found cumbering the soil of a newly discovered country. They soon cease to cumber; they fertilize."- "AIR, n. A nutritious substance supplied by a bountiful Providence for the fattening of the poor."The domestic affairs entries:- "BRUTE, n. See HUSBAND."- "BEAUTY, n. The power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband."- "HOUSELESS, adj. Having paid all taxes on household goods."- "LOVE, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage..."The church and state entries:- "ALDERMAN, n. An ingenious criminal who covers his secret thieving with a pretense of open marauding."- "ALLIANCE, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third."- "WALL STREET, n. A symbol for sin."- "PRIMATE, n. The head of a church..."- "INFIDEL, n. In New York, one who does not believe in the Christian religion; in Constantinople, one who does."(That last one I found particularly insightful and one of my favorite in the book).And others I found notably funny:- "CIRCUS, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool."- "CLAIRVOYANT, n. A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron, namely, that he is a blockhead."- "DUEL, Once, a long time ago, a man died in a duel."- "MOUSE, n. An animal which strews its path with fainting women. As in Rome Christians were thrown to the lions, so centuries earlier... female heretics were thrown to the mice."- "RAMSHACKLE, adj. Pertaining to a certain order of architecture, otherwise known as the Normal American."So, yes, I did find a few laughs in this book, and I am glad to have read it. On the other hand, I found many of the poems used as examples of using given words in sentences annoying, the frequent defining of mythical creatures and places jarring, and certain concepts over-used and no longer half so funny by the time I got to the letter M. Bierce especially wears out his use of pickpockets, and the word appeared so many times I do not think that I will ever be able to see pickpockets in a comical light again. I don't think it would have been possible to squeeze in another pickpocket metaphor no matter how funny Bierce (and his editors) seemed to think them.And so, I only passably enjoyed this non-typical dictionary.But, who knows, maybe reading this was just making me cynical.
    • 5/5
      An abridged version of the classic work. The definitions will leave you roaring with delight, and sometimes guffawing in recognition.
    • 5/5
      There may be none, outside of perhaps Rabelais, who may so decorously handle the refuse of the world. The Devil's Dictionary is a guidebook for the mind of man, and perhaps a certain delicacy becomes necessary when exploring something so rude and unappealing. There is perhaps no greater illustration that the answer of 'why do bad things happen to good people' is: because it is much funnier that way.
    • 2/5
      I'm not sure whether I just didn't enjoy this book, or if I didn't enjoy reading it via dailyLit.com. I think, though, that it's the book's fault. You don't have to read much past the first few letters of the alphabet to see what Bierce's hobby-horses are: religion, women, other writers, etc. He really doesn't cover much new territory, and what he does seems to have been done by better satirists. His aphorisms don't have the comic touches of Twain at his best, and his diatribes don't come anywhere near Voltaire or Swift. What's left is too few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing series or predictable targets and predictable satire against them. Maybe I'm just turning into an old, curmudgeonly fart, but this book just didn't do it for me.
    • 4/5
      As brilliant as many of the individual definitions are, reading this book from cover to cover is a bit of a chore.
    • 4/5
      Brilliant. If you're looking to expand your vocabulary, you can do no better. At some times he writes succinctly, allowing his ready wit to strike freely. At other times Bierce' writing assumes a prolixity worthy of the dryest of scholars, giving the dictionary a faux-pomposity which perfectly enhances the ridiculousness of the things he's put on paper.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant. Bierce is biting and never tongue-in-cheek, always cynical, and always funny. This is a great work to pick up and flip through whenever one is feeling sad, bored, or a little too warm-hearted.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic. If you love words, puns, or concise writing, this is one you'll love. If you're a fan of American Literature in the late 19th Century, this is one of the funniest compilations to come from the period. I'm hoping to find an unabridged version to replace my rinky-dink one. It stands next to Sam'l Johnson on my desk.
    • 5/5
      every satirist needs this book. i use it many times through the year.