The Devil's Dictionary

“ACCURACY, n. A certain uninteresting quality carefully excluded from human statements.” In this collection of satirical definitions of everyday terms, Ambrose Bierce puts his immeasurable wit on full display. Composed over several decades, the dictionary remains a treasure trove of humor for cynics and misanthropes alike. The Devil’s Dictionary is a work of satire by Ambrose Bierce.

About the author

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.

Product details

• Authors: Ambrose Bierce
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 21.05.2021
• EAN: 9781513282770
• ISBN: 978-1-5132-8277-0
• No. of pages: 236
• Dimensions: 127 mm x 203 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 276 g
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Series: Mint Editions; Mint Editions—Humorous and Satirical Narratives; Mint Editions (Humorous and Satirical Narratives)
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > Dictionaries, reference works > German dictionaries; HUMOR / Form / Parodies, Classic fiction (pre c 1945), REFERENCE / Dictionaries, LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General, Dictionaries, Satirical fiction and parodies, Parodies & Spoofs