A popular character in old Italian plays, who imitated with ludicrous incompetence the buffone, or clown, and was therefore the ape of an ape; for the clown himself imitated the serious characters of the play. The zany was progenitor to the specialist in humor, as we to-day have the unhappiness to know him. In the zany we see an example of creation; in the humorist, of transmission. Another excellent specimen of the modern zany is the curate, who apes the rector, who apes the bishop, who apes the archbishop, who apes the devil.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

(n.) what kids/ teenagers call what's simply day-to-day household upkeep. a point of contention and a reason for whining.

(also: maturity)
(also: upkeep)
(also: household)

n. "A kind of cloth the making of which, when made of hemp, entails a great waste of hemp."
— Calcraft the Hangman.

(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

(n.) 1) the broad, flat thing that would kill you if you fell from a great height. the thing you are most likely standing on whenever gravity works as intended; 2) the dead remains of coffee

(v.) 1) to confine a young person to their room, as punishment for misbehavior; 2) to confine electric currents to an equalized surface, as punishment for trying to zap people

ground is a lot of things, it transpires.

In America the chief executive office of a county, whose most characteristic duties, in some of the Western and Southern States, are the catching and hanging of rogues.

---

John Elmer Pettibone Cajee
(I write of him with little glee)
Was just as bad as he could be.

'Twas frequently remarked: "I swon!
The sun has never looked upon
So bad a man as Neighbor John."

A sinner through and through, he had
This added fault: it made him mad
To know another man was bad.

In such a case he thought it right
To rise at any hour of night
And quench that wicked person's light.

Despite the town's entreaties, he
Would hale him to the nearest tree
And leave him swinging wide and free.

Or sometimes, if the humor came,
A luckless wight's reluctant frame
Was given to the cheerful flame.

While it was turning nice and brown,
All unconcerned John met the frown
Of that austere and righteous town.

"How sad," his neighbors said, "that he
So scornful of the law should be —
An anar c, h, i, s, t."

(That is the way that they preferred
To utter the abhorrent word,
So strong the aversion that it stirred.)

"Resolved," they said, continuing,
"That Badman John must cease this thing
Of having his unlawful fling.

"Now, by these sacred relics" — here
Each man had out a souvenir
Got at a lynching yesteryear —

"By these we swear he shall forsake
His ways, nor cause our hearts to ache
By sins of rope and torch and stake.

"We'll tie his red right hand until
He'll have small freedom to fulfil
The mandates of his lawless will."

So, in convention then and there,
They named him Sheriff. The affair
Was opened, it is said, with prayer.
—J. Milton Sloluck


(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

the no-longer-used name for a large part of germany (with some bits, ah, borrowed from poland)

prussia was known for not liking austria, and may as well be the origin of the german reputation for dourness and industriousness, not to mention fancy elaborate uniforms. bad things tend to happen for the rest of the world when germans decide to start reliving the good old prussian days

(n.) a near-identical cousin of the chimpanzee, that. Um. greatly enjoys the company of others of its kind.

... giggity.

n. A financial doctrinaire in 1896; in 1904 a purveyor of "crow" to the masses.
(also: list of all isms)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

(1827 – 1912) British surgeon who pioneered the use of sterilisation and antiseptic surgery.
(also: 100 most influential people in the world)
(also: joseph lister quotes)

“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognize the opportunity.”
― John F. Kennedy
(also: John F. Kennedy)

a situation in which ideas can compete and evolve to be most agreeable with people's biases

(n.) a way of life and appreciating nature.
Original perception of tea in ancient China influenced and was influenced by major philosophies, in particular Taoism as many taoists found life's reflection in simplicity and depths of tea.

An unlocked door in the prison of Identity. It leads into the jail yard.

Having the quality of magazine poetry. (also: FLUMMERY)

n. The music with which we charm the serpents guarding another's treasure.

(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

“I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be.”
― Albert Einstein
(also: Albert Einstein)

(noun):
Hilariously disastrous stories that make you question humanity's ability to navigate the simplest of tasks, like opening a door or using a toaster without setting the house on fire.

(also: tales from pizza guy)

individuals who make others uncomfortable, and exude predatory intent, which they spend a great deal of time insisting to their targets aren't bad intentions, at all. Honestly.

Subtypes of creepers range from simply staring at you in a retail store, to running up to you and self-destructing, violently.

(also: Minecraft)

I wish I could explain this, but there's just.. something I'm missing. Something that, if I had it, would allow me to more easily explain this to people, regardless of the difficulty of understanding the concept itself. Some skill, some quality describing either myself or the ease with which I explained things to others.

If only I knew what that was called, so I could look it up, come to understand it, and hone it within myself, until I had so much.. so much SOMETHING that I could effectively explain what it means to have perspicuity.

But alas. I don't have enough of that word, that concept that would allow as much

(n.) an account of how things stand. what (or who!) has come in, what (or who) has gone out. handy for an overview.

historically, (n.) "a book that lies permanently in some specified place."
historically, also (adj.) "remaining in a place, permanent, stationary"