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Author: Rick Bayan Publisher: Harper Perennial ISBN: 9780688151256 Category : Humor Languages : en Pages : 192
Book Description
For fans of Dave Barry and Gary Larson, 900-plus definitions for the outraged idealist in all of us. The Cynics Dictionary fills the need we all have to reassure ourselves that we're right--things are a mess. The world is falling apart. And if we can't always fix it, at least we can still poke fun at it. Brash, bold, and brilliant, irascible and irreverent.
Author: Rick Bayan Publisher: Harper Perennial ISBN: 9780688151256 Category : Humor Languages : en Pages : 192
Book Description
For fans of Dave Barry and Gary Larson, 900-plus definitions for the outraged idealist in all of us. The Cynics Dictionary fills the need we all have to reassure ourselves that we're right--things are a mess. The world is falling apart. And if we can't always fix it, at least we can still poke fun at it. Brash, bold, and brilliant, irascible and irreverent.
Author: Ambrose Bierce Publisher: Standard Ebooks ISBN: Category : Fiction Languages : en Pages : 341
Book Description
“Dictionary, n: A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work.” Bierce’s groundbreaking Devil’s Dictionary had a complex publication history. Started in the mid-1800s as an irregular column in Californian newspapers under various titles, he gradually refined the new-at-the-time idea of an irreverent set of glossary-like definitions. The final name, as we see it titled in this work, did not appear until an 1881 column published in the periodical The San Francisco Illustrated Wasp. There were no publications of the complete glossary in the 1800s. Not until 1906 did a portion of Bierce’s collection get published by Doubleday, under the name The Cynic’s Word Book—the publisher not wanting to use the word “Devil” in the title, to the great disappointment of the author. The 1906 word book only went from A to L, however, and the remainder was never released under the compromised title. In 1911 the Devil’s Dictionary as we know it was published in complete form as part of Bierce’s collected works (volume 7 of 12), including the remainder of the definitions from M to Z. It has been republished a number of times, including more recent efforts where older definitions from his columns that never made it into the original book were included. Due to the complex nature of copyright, some of those found definitions have unclear public domain status and were not included. This edition of the book includes, however, a set of definitions attributed to his one-and-only “Demon’s Dictionary” column, including Bierce’s classic definition of A: “the first letter in every properly constructed alphabet.” Bierce enjoyed “quoting” his pseudonyms in his work. Most of the poetry, dramatic scenes and stories in this book attributed to others were self-authored and do not exist outside of this work. This includes the prolific Father Gassalasca Jape, whom he thanks in the preface—“jape” of course having the definition: “a practical joke.” This book is a product of its time and must be approached as such. Many of the definitions hold up well today, but some might be considered less palatable by modern readers. Regardless, the book’s humorous style is a valuable snapshot of American culture from past centuries. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.
Author: Aubrey Dillon-Malone Publisher: ISBN: 9781853753565 Category : Cynicism Languages : en Pages : 310
Book Description
This is an acerbic collection of alternative definitions that aim to set the record straight; epigrammatic cynicism from some of the greatest wits - Oscar Wilde, H.L. Mencken, Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, George Bernard Shaw and modern-day practitioners including P.J. O'Rourke, Madonna and Woody Allen.
Author: Rhoda Koenig Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 0762775777 Category : Reference Languages : en Pages : 197
Book Description
A new and beautifully illustrated collection of bitter, biting definitions to celebrate the centenary of The Devil’s Dictionary Ambrose Bierce’s classic The Devil’s Dictionary first appeared in its entirety in 1911. Its caustic wit and arch tone have ensured steady popularity and sales to this day. To mark its centennial, Rhoda Koenig gives us a new version of Bierce’s mordant vision. Its myriad definitions, like the original’s, individually expose hypocrisy, pretension, and vanity and collectively paint a mocking portrait of society at its worst. More than just a denunciation of jargon or political correctness, it lambasts old and young, rich and poor, male and female, left and right, and takes them all down a peg—or three. It deals with classic subjects but also defines new ideas and explicates new usages from “academia” to “teamwork” to “women’s magazine.” Among the many definitions inside: accessible, adj. (1) Of a subject, one that can be approached by the most intellectually handicapped, aided by the ramp of banality and the guardrail of diminished vocabulary. (2) Of a woman, a nice way of putting it. collectible, n. Object which many are eager to possess, though it may not be attractive, entertaining, or useful. Not to be confused with “spouse.” If you relish moral criticism of immoral behavior, The New Devil’s Dictionary will leave you howling for more.
Author: Alberto Manguel Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt ISBN: 9780156008723 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 780
Book Description
Describes and visualizes over 1,200 magical lands found in literature and film, discussing such exotic realms as Atlantis, Tolkien's Middle Earth, and Oz.
Author: Jan Freeman Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: 0802719708 Category : Reference Languages : en Pages : 236
Book Description
In 1893, Ambrose Bierce declared "I am for preserving the ancient, primitive distinction between right and wrong." In Write it Right, originally published in 1909, Bierce turned this considerable zeal on the English language. The result revealed that the satirical author of The Devil's Dictionary had a keen ear for the vernacular--and that he hated it. This slim volume of his 300 or so reviled words and expressions contains many we use today with no hesitation at all. (Of "electrocution" he says, "To one having even an elementary knowledge of Latin grammar this word is no less than disgusting, and the thing meant by it is felt to be altogether too good for the word's inventor.") Jan Freeman, author of the weekly column "The Word" for the Boston Globe, annotates Bierce's rulings with style, humor, and in-depth research, revealing what Bierce got right--and what he didn't--and giving insight into how the language has changed over the past century. Write it Right, with its incisive wit and insight into the history of American English, is the perfect gift for word curmudgeons everywhere.
Author: Diogenes Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0199589240 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 308
Book Description
A unique edition of the sayings of Diogenes, whose biting wit and eccentricity inspired the anecdotes that express his Cynic philosophy. It includes the accounts of his immediate successors, such as Crates and Hipparchia, and the witty moral preacher Bion. The contrasting teachings of the Cyrenaics and the hedonistic Aristippos complete the volume.
Author: Helen Small Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0198861931 Category : Languages : en Pages : 281
Book Description
Cynicism is usually seen as a provocative mode of dissent from conventional moral thought, casting doubt on the motives that guide right conduct. When critics today complain that it is ubiquitous but lacks the serious bite of classical Cynicism, they express concern that it can now only be corrosively negative. The Function of Cynicism at the Present Time takes a more balanced view. Re-evaluating the role of cynicism in literature, cultural criticism, and philosophy from 1840 to the present, it treats cynic confrontationalism as a widely-employed credibility-check on the promotion of moral ideals--with roots in human psychology. Helen Small investigates how writers have engaged with Cynic traditions of thought, and later more gestural styles of cynicism, to re-calibrate dominant moral values, judgements of taste, and political agreements. The argument develops through a series of cynic challenges to accepted moral thinking: Friedrich Nietzsche on morality; Thomas Carlyle v. J. S. Mill on the permissible limits of moral provocation; Arnold on the freedom of criticism; George Eliot and Ford Madox Ford on cosmopolitanism; Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, and Laura Kipnis on the conditions of work in the university. The Function of Cynicism treats topics of present-day public concern: abrasive styles of public argument; debasing challenges to conventional morality; free speech, moral controversialism; the authority of reason and the limits of that authority; nationalism and resistance to nationalism; and liberty of expression as a core principle of the university.
Author: Ambrose Bierce Publisher: Big Nest ISBN: 9781910150313 Category : Humor Languages : en Pages : 218
Book Description
The Cynic's Dictionary is an indispensable resource offering satirical reinterpretations of terms in the English language, covering every aspect of human foolishness and frailty. A conspicuous, and it is hoped not unpleasant, feature of the book is its abundant illustrative quotations from eminent poets.
Author: Rick Bayan
Author: Rick Bayan
Author: Ambrose Bierce
Author: Ambrose Bierce
Author: Aubrey Dillon-Malone
Author: Rhoda Koenig
Author: Alberto Manguel
Author: Jan Freeman
Author: Diogenes
Author: Helen Small
Author: Ambrose Bierce