Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Biercewas an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and compiled a satirical lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary. His vehemence as a critic, his motto "Nothing matters", and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work, all earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth24 June 1842
CityMeighs County, OH
CountryUnited States of America
Barometer, n.: An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of weather we are having.
Calamities are of two kinds: misfortunes to ourselves, and good fortune to others.
Confidante: One entrusted by A with the secrets of B confided to herself by C.
Convent - a place of retirement for women who wish for leisure to meditate upon the sin of idleness.
Creditor. One of a tribe of savages dwelling beyond the Financial Straits and dreaded for their desolating incursions.
I never said all Democrats were saloonkeepers. What I said was that all saloonkeepers are Democrats.
Genealogy, n. An account of one's descent from a man who did not particularly care to trace his own.
Famous, adj.: Conspicuously miserable.
Witticism. A sharp and clever remark, usually quoted and seldom noted; what the Philistine is pleased to call a joke.
Ambidextrous, adj.: Able to pick with equal skill a right-hand pocket or a left.
Bigot: One who is obstinately and zealously attached to an opinion that you do not entertain.
Clairvoyant, n.: A person, commonly a woman, who has the power of seeing that which is invisible to her patron - namely, that he is a blockhead.
Duty - that which sternly impels us in the direction of profit, along the line of desire.
Abscond - to move in a mysterious way, commonly with the property of another.