The Devil's Dictionary - Tapa blanda

What other kind of dictionary would you expect from the pen of Ambrose Bierce? A noted journalist, Bierce’s first job was as a printer’s “devil.” A cynic extraordinaire, he first saw publication of this work in 1906 under the title THE CYNIC'S WORD BOOK. Having endured and been been badly wounded in the Civil War, Bierce might be excused a somewhat jaundiced view of the human condition. Perhaps due to the author’s journalistic experiences, the reader will note a particular cynicism toward politics and politicians (see definition below). And a failed marriage did nothing to enhance is views of romance. Thankfully for the reader, Ambrose Bierce has turned to wit and humor rather than to bitterness. Yes, he is cynical, but delightfully so. ABSURDITY, n. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one's own opinion. ALONE, adj. In bad company. LOVE, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage... NEIGHBOR, n. One whom we are commanded to love as ourselves, and who does all he knows how to make us disobedient. POLITICIAN, n. An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. RATTLESNAKE, n. Our prostrate brother. SCRIPTURES, n. The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based. CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE J. Milton Sloluck Jum Coople Hannibal Hunsiker Worgum Slupsky (and others from the author’s extraordinary imagination)