The Devils Dictionary

Ambrose Bierce wrote a satirical dictionary titled The Devils Dictionary. The lexicon was first written over a period of thirty years as a collection of articles for magazines and newspapers. It has gained a name all across the world by being frequently repeated and imitated. It was listed among the top 100 works of American literature in the 1970s.The English Language, his dictionary, was released on April 15th, 1755. 42,733 terms were defined in Johnsons Dictionary, almost all seriously. The alphabetical list of definitions that we have here was put together from several notes, copies, and variations.The first definition attributed to Ambrose Bierce was released in 1867. His satirical dictionary "The Demons Dictionary" was only published once, but it inspired imitators. Harry Ellington Brook wrote one of the most significant ones for The Illustrated San Francisco Wasp. In The Wasp, Paul Bierces satirical definitions took the place of "Wasps Improved Webster" and were replaced with his own. He penned 79 articles for "The Devils Dictionary," making his way through the alphabet to the word "lickspittle" in the 14 August 1886 edition.