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The Devil's Dictionary
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The Devil's Dictionary Paperback - 1999

by Ambrose Bierce; Introduction by Roy Morris

The caustic aphorisms collected in "The Devil's Dictionary" helped earn Ambrose Bierce the epithets Bitter Bierce, the Devil's Lexicographer, and the Wickedest Man in San Francisco. The words he shaped into verbal pitchforks a century ago--with or without the devil's help--can still draw blood today.


From the publisher

History, n. an account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools. Marriage, n. The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress, and two slaves, making in all two. Self-Esteem, n. An erroneous appraisement.
These caustic aphorisms, collected in The Devil's Dictionary, helped earn Ambrose Bierce the epithets Bitter Bierce, the Devil's Lexicographer, and the Wickedest Man in San Francisco. First published as The Cynic's Word Book (1906) and later reissued under its preferred name in 1911, Bierce's notorious collection of barbed definitions forcibly contradicts Samuel Johnson's earlier definition of a lexicographer as a harmless drudge. There was nothing harmless about Ambrose Bierce, and the words he shaped into verbal pitchforks a century ago--with or without the devil's help--can still draw blood today.

Details

  • Title The Devil's Dictionary
  • Author Ambrose Bierce; Introduction by Roy Morris
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Later Printing
  • Pages 256
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Oxford University Press, USA, New York
  • Date 1999-01-07
  • ISBN 9780195126273 / 0195126270
  • Weight 0.7 lbs (0.32 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 in (21.34 x 13.72 x 2.29 cm)
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1851-1899
    • Topical: Civil War
  • Library of Congress subjects Vocabulary - Humor, English language - Dictionaries - Humor
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 98022576
  • Dewey Decimal Code 423.020

About the author


Roy Morris, Jr., is the editor of America's Civil War and the author of Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company and Sheridan: The Life and Wars of General Phil Sheridan. He lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
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