The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce, was originally a newspaper serialization that offered an interesting reinterpretation of the English language in which cant and political double-talk were neatly lampooned. It has known several imitations, one of the latest being The Computer Contradictionary.
Some definitions, such as that of marriage (see below) were considered scandalous or amoral or both by certain parts of society.
Published in 1911, various editions are currently in print including ISBN 0195126270, by Oxford University Press, and ISBN 0820324019. It is also available online through Project Gutenberg.
Some examples
- African
- A nigger that votes our way.
- Cat
- A soft indestructible automaton provided by Nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.
- Cynic
- A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision.
- Electricity
- The cause of all natural phenomena not known to be caused by something else.
- Innards
- The stomach, heart, soul, and other bowels.
- Marriage
- The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two.
- Mayonnaise
- One of the sauces that serve the French in place of a state religion.
- Wife
- The bitter half.
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