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Ambrose Bierce's classic collection of witty and satirical definitions, arranged alphabetically as a dictionary, is presented here in full.
Known as a hero for his actions in the American Civil War, Bierce distinguished himself later in life as a barbed commentator who would turn his ire to all sorts of topics. Today, most of his journalism and opinion pieces are consigned to obscurity. Lasting fame however was gained from the Devil's Dictionary; wherein Bierce redefines popular terms in a deeply sardonic, even bitter, manner.
The Devil's Dictionary is, as the title suggests, full of dark and devilish humor. For instance, it describes the Adam's Apple as a "protuberance on the throat of a man, thoughtfully provided by Nature to keep the rope in place." and marriage as a "state of temporary insanity only cured by the passage of time."
Über den Autor / die Autorin
AMBROSE BIERCE (1842-1914) journalist, satirist, and Civil War veteran, began his satirical redefinitions of ordinary words in a weekly newspaper in 1881, and saw them first collected in The Cynic's Word Book (1906). It was with the 1911 republication as The Devil's Dictionary that he struck comedy gold for the ages with his ironic riffs on American culture. Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States.
