Born in Ohio in 1842, journalist, short-story writer and critic Ambrose Bierce developed into one of this country's most celebrated and cynical wits — a merciless "American Swift" whose literary barbs were aimed at folly, self-delusion, politics, business, religion, literature and the arts. In this splendid "dictionary" of epigrams, essays, verses and vignettes, you'll find over 1,000 pointed definitions, e.g. Congratulation ("The civility of envy"), Coward ("One who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs") and Historian ("A broad-gauge gossip"). Anyone who likes to laugh will love The Devil's Dictionary. Anyone looking for a bon mot to enliven their next speech, paper or conversation will have a field day thumbing through what H. L. Mencken called "some of the most gorgeous witticisms in the English language."
Reprint of the Neale Publishing Company, 1911 edition.
Availability | Usually ships in 24 to 48 hours |
ISBN 10 | 0486275426 |
ISBN 13 | 9780486275420 |
Author/Editor | Ambrose Bierce |
Format | Book |
Grade level | 9 and Up (ages 14 and up) |
Page Count | 144 |
Dimensions | 5 x 8 |