''The Devil's Dictionary'' is a collection of cynical and pessimistic "definitions" of common everyday words. It was written by Ambrose Bierce. The definitions first appeared in his column in a San Francisco newspaper. It was eventually published in book form and still remains in print today, although due a lack of copyright, it is freely available for download online <ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/972 free download from Project Guttenberg.]</ref>
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'''''The Devil's Dictionary''''' is a collection of cynical and pessimistic "definitions" of common everyday words written by [[Ambrose Bierce]]. The definitions first appeared in his column in a [[San Francisco]] [[newspaper]]. It was eventually published in book form and still remains in print today, although due a lack of [[copyright]], it is freely available for download online.<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/etext/972 free download from Project Guttenberg.]</ref>
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Bierce satirized both liberal and conservative positions with his work and frequently made subtle attacks against religion and the church.
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Bierce satirized both liberal and conservative positions with his work and frequently made very public and offensive attacks against religion and the church.
==Examples==
==Examples==
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''Vote (v):'' The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.
''Vote (v):'' The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country.
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==See Also==
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==See also==
[http://publicliterature.org/books/devils_dictionary/xaa.php Full text of the book at PublicLiterature.com]
[http://publicliterature.org/books/devils_dictionary/xaa.php Full text of the book at PublicLiterature.com]