The Devil S Dictionary Quotes & Sayings

GHOST, n. The outward and visible sign of an inward fear. - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary — Chet Williamson

AMERICANISM, n. 1) The desire to purge America of all those qualities which make it a more or less tolerable place in which to live; 2) The ability to simultaneously kiss ass, follow your boss's orders, swallow a pay cut, piss in a bottle, cower in fear of job loss, and brag about your freedom. — Ambrose Bierce

We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges. When soldiers take their oath they are given a coin, an asimi stamped with the profile of the Autarch. Their acceptance of that coin is their acceptance of the special duties and burdens of military life - they are soldiers from that moment, though they may know nothing of the management of arms. I did not know that then, but it is a profound mistake to believe that we must know of such things to be influenced by them, and in fact to believe so is to believe in the most debased and superstitious kind of magic. The would-be sorcerer alone has faith in the efficacy of pure knowledge; rational people know that things act of themselves or not at all. — Gene Wolfe

I'm very curious why people in school all the time from 2-3 class up to the last 6-7 they talk about football. What can be said??
Sharing about a team few sentences, who has won, and rought said that's all. But why people stretch it like a Turkish delight with the same end??? — Deyth Banger

Race is precisely of as much consequence in man as it is in any animal. — John Ruskin

You know, many of you kids can't relate to what it takes to get to the top rung, the top of the heap, to have success. We're looking for things that come in a minute. It just doesn't happen. — Dave Winfield

Database Management System [Origin: Data + Latin basus "low, mean, vile, menial, degrading, ounterfeit."] A complex set of interrelational data structures allowing data to be lost in many convenient sequences while retaining a complete record of the logical relations between the missing items.
From The Devil's DP Dictionary — Stan Kelly-Bootle

Yippee. I've been promoted from fire lighter to delivery boy. I'll write a letter home to Mother. She'll be so pleased.
Leif — Maria V. Snyder

It is important to ask yourself why you're doing what you're doing and what purpose it serves in the big picture. — Miley Cyrus

As mutual fund returns vary widely, e.g. as of October 31, 2014, the 5-year annualized return has varied between -6.94% and 26.42% with average return of 13.62%. A right advisor can definitely provide value addition in fund selection and achieving your goals. — Jigar Patel

VLADIMIR: Well? Shall we go?
ESTRAGON: Yes, let's go.

They do not move. — Samuel Beckett

Saint took a seat at the main faro table at the Society club. "What the devil is a ladies' political tea?"
Tristan Carroway, Viscount Dare, finished placing his wager, then sat back, reaching for his glass of
port. "Do I look like a dictionary?"
"You're domesticated." Saint motioned for a glass of his own, despite unfriendly looks from the tables'
other players. "What is it?"
"I'm not domesticated; I'm in love. You should try it. Does wonders for your outlook on life."
"I'll take your word for it, thank you. — Suzanne Enoch

Many readers are familiar with the spirit and the letter of the definition of "prayer," as given by Ambrose Bierce in his Devil's Dictionary. It runs like this, and is extremely easy to comprehend: Prayer: A petition that the laws of nature be suspended in favor of the petitioner; himself confessedly unworthy. Everybody can see the joke that is lodged within this entry: The man who prays is the one who thinks that god has arranged matters all wrong, but who also thinks that he can instruct god how to put them right. Half-buried in the contradiction is the distressing idea that nobody is in charge, or nobody with any moral authority. The call to prayer is self-cancelling. — Christopher Hitchens

The Devil will use our words and his dictionary. — Adrian Rogers

That's how ideas and the institutions they generate come to be in the first place. It is in strings of words that we make ideas. The words, however, can say anything that the language permits, which, in our case, is quite a lot, so a string of words can just as easily express inanities as ideas. When inanities are expressed, we can discover them just by paying attention to the words. — Richard Mitchell

Any allegation of runaway capitalism has to be tempered by the observation that today we have the largest public sectors and the highest taxes the world has ever known. — Johan Norberg

I often think we should have tattooed on the back of whatever hand we use to shoot or write, I might be wrong. — Louise Penny

Theology is the logic of the Devil. — Jose Bergamin

'The Devil's Dictionary' reads like a collection of great Twitter posts. And as people do with tweets, they can swipe Bierce's best lines and recite them as nearly their own. The reflected glory of reposting. — Victor LaValle

When I get my heart rate up, I get good exercise and I think it's good for a lot of things, plus it's not hurting my hips right now. — Mike Ditka

For the first half of my adult life, I was a Democrat. — Alphonso Jackson