(n.) a way of saying "distinguishing characteristics," when you feel that just saying "distinguishing characteristics" just wouldn't cut it

"hey, this has all the indicia of a run on the banks, george!"

The sacred books of our holy religion, as distinguished from the false and profane writings on which all other faiths are based.

(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

(n.) a small island nation that exists primarily to serve as england's whipping boy

once nearly starved to death after running out of potatoes. presumably they really like potatoes.

n. One with his hand in your pocket, his tongue in your ear and his faith in your patience.

(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

(n.) a gentlemanly sport with increasingly infrequent casualties

a category of economic systems where the working class controls the means of production for society

(n.) a cucumber that has been mummified in vinegar brine and packaged in an ornate sarcophagus

To seek a justification for a decision already made.
(also: stupid)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

A reproduction of a work of art, by the artist that made the original. It is so called to distinguish it from a "copy," which is made by another artist. When the two are made with equal skill the replica is the more valuable, for it is supposed to be more beautiful than it looks.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

The state or condition in which the wicked cease from struggling and the dreary are at rest. Fame's eternal dumping ground. Cold storage for high hopes. A place where ambitious authors meet their works without pride and their betters without envy. A dormitory without an alarm clock.

writing or other creative work viewed by publishers as something to fill books with.

not exhibiting the cheating, hypercompetitiveness, or general lack of integrity expected of athletes

An armed force for protection and participation.
(also: revolution)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

A short story padded. A species of composition bearing the same relation to literature that the panorama bears to art. As it is too long to be read at a sitting the impressions made by its successive parts are successively effaced, as in the panorama. Unity, totality of effect, is impossible; for besides the few pages last read all that is carried in mind is the mere plot of what has gone before. To the romance the novel is what photography is to painting. Its distinguishing principle, probability, corresponds to the literal actuality of the photograph and puts it distinctly into the category of reporting; whereas the free wing of the romancer enables him to mount to such altitudes of imagination as he may be fitted to attain; and the first three essentials of the literary art are imagination, imagination and imagination. The art of writing novels, such as it was, is long dead everywhere except in Russia, where it is new. Peace to its ashes — some of which have a large sale.

tomato is a roundish (usually) fruit with seeds inside, that is suitable for eating raw or cooked. Works well in salads, soup, stews, grilled, fried, and other cooking methods. Can be pronounced multiple ways. Tomatoes come in a range of shapes and sizes and even colors. They are sometimes the cause of debate, as some people classify them as vegetables rather than fruits because of how they are used in food. Tomatoes are one of the most commonly eaten foods (in various forms) - for example ketchup and tomato sauce are one of the most popular condiments in the world.

Is the time when you realize that you wasted your entire life,and that you are a horrible person,and the biggest loser in the world,and that no one will remember you after your death and schools will call you the biggest loser in the entire human history and will teach student how not to be like you.

the hindsight-fueled ramblings of older individuals who forget their own past mistakes and offer vague platitudes.

(also: Relationship advice)

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”― George Eliot

skin seen as the canvas for artworks in the medium of ink

n. The disposition to endure injury with meek forbearance while maturing a plan of revenge.
(also: LONGEVITY)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)