American satirist AMBROSE GWINNETT BIERCE (1842-c. 1914) began his satirical redefinitions of ordinary words in a weekly newspaper in 1881, and saw them first collected in *The Cynic's Word Book* in 1906. But it was with the 1911 republication as *The Devil's Dictionary* that he struck comedy gold for the ages with his pointedly mocking and ironic riffs on politics, business, religion, the arts, and American culture at large. From *abasement* ("a decent and customary mental attitude in the presence of wealth or power; peculiarly appropriate in an employee when addressing an employer") to *zoology* ("the science and history of the animal kingdom, including its king, the House Fly"), *The Devil's Dictionary* remains as witty today as it was a century ago.

Media	Books Paperback Book (Book with soft cover and glued back)
Released	August 1, 2009
ISBN13	9781605206554
Publishers	Cosimo Classics
Pages	148
Dimensions	140 × 216 × 9 mm · 195 g
Language	English

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