(n.) stating that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence".
employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a position where they are no longer competent.

(also: incompetence)

ptolemy i soter (367-282 BC) was a doofy-looking greek man who served as a military commander under alexander the great, for which he was made satrap (governor) of egypt, starting a new greek dynasty over the whole country (as well as other bits of the levant). he also responsible for establishing the musaium, the great library and university at alexandria.

following alexander's somewhat mysterious death while on campaign in babylon, ptolemy was on hand to have the conqueror's body taken to alexandria to be properly buried, which would have been read, by the custom of the time, as a declaration that he was alexander's "real, for true" successor (and it's rumored by some that he might have been alexander's illegitimate brother, though this is unlikely)

the ptolemaic dynasty of egypt was plagued by incest and treachery (yadda yadda) until it finally ended in 30 BC, when julius caesar decided egypt would make a nice backyard extension.

(n.) a food that takes the form of an O made of fried sugar-dough. even though such toruses are theoretically without beginning or end, donuts tend to be gone very quickly.

(n.) the people or groups of people in charge of running things, or in charge of preventing things from running for safety reasons. The Man.

piece of the former yugoslavia, and formerly united with the czech republic

artists andy warhol and steve ditko came from slovak immigrant families, suggesting that this is mostly a place people come from rather than go to

(n.) the belief that any sacrifice is worth it to make the world a worse place

The art of determining the character of another by the resemblances and differences between his face and our own, which is the standard of excellence.

---

"There is no art," says Shakespeare, foolish man,
"To read the mind's construction in the face."
The physiognomists his portrait scan,
And say: "How little wisdom here we trace!
He knew his face disclosed his mind and heart,
So, in his own defence, denied our art."
—Lavatar Shunk
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

(adverb): A word that means the opposite of "yes" but is often used ironically to actually mean "yes". Because why be straightforward when you can make people guess?

(n.) the shorthand way of saying television.

that we even need a shorthand version of such a trivial word is indicative of how this invention has damaged us as a society.

n. An animal which strews its path with fainting women. As in Rome Christians were thrown to the lions, so centuries earlier in Otumwee, the most ancient and famous city of the world, female heretics were thrown to the mice. Jakak-Zotp, the historian, the only Otumwump whose writings have descended to us, says that these martyrs met their death with little dignity and much exertion. He even attempts to exculpate the mice (such is the malice of bigotry) by declaring that the unfortunate women perished, some from exhaustion, some of broken necks from falling over their own feet and some from lack of restoratives. The (also: mice), he avers, enjoyed the pleasures of the chase with composure. But if "Roman history is nine-tenths lying," we can hardly expect a smaller proportion of that rhetorical figure in the annals of a people capable of so incredible cruelty to lovely woman; for a hard heart has a false tongue.

(also: mice)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

(n.) leaves, grasses, needles (or the like) + hot water. and idc what the tea snobs say.


https://www.teasource.com/pages/types-of-tea
https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Lemongrass-Tea

(also: bubble tea)


(n.) leaked drama, generally about e-celebs.
there are whole youtube channels dedicated to 'spilling the tea' on popular YouTubers.
(also: spill the tea)

The part of Africa where the natives got screwed by the Dutch, and then the British screwed both the natives and the Dutch, and then the Dutch and the British teamed up to really brutally screw the natives for decades.

Today the system of screwing ('apartheid') is dismantled and its aftereffects slowly being undone, but there's no help to be had for those crazy accents.

There are only two tragedies in life. One is not getting what you want, the other is getting it.
(also: life)
(also: getting what you want)

one possible means by which the universe may have come into existence, which has eclipsed the "laid by a giant space chicken" hypothesis

succinctly put, this theory proposes that the universe originally existed in an infinitesimal, incomprehensibly small state, then exploded outward and has continued to grow and spread continually ever since, ably accounting for the blueshift of cosmic background radiation

the puzzle of how the universe can expand, implying the existence of an outward territory which is not part of it (despite it supposedly containing everything) is one of those cranium-confounders for big shot physicists to solve.

(n.) one of the more savage surviving dinosaurs, with a particularly delicious liver

An army of words escorting a corporal of thought.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

n. Literally a freedman; hence, one who is in bondage to his passions.

(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

Considered the origin point of the modern human species. While Y-Chromosomal Adam, or the current one, was in the Spain and is roughly 58000 year old. Alongside Mitochondrial Eve, he is considered the oldest ancestor of humanity.

(also: Mitochondrial Eve)

(adj.) of or pertaining to Canada, in some way, shape or form. not liable for any niceness, or lack thereof, that you may expect.

(also: Canada)

(n.) a ground beef sandwich requiring a special dome-shaped bread packaging.

may also include ingredients like special sauce, lettuce, cheese pickles, onions and sesame seeds. occasionally you get more exotic toppings thrown on as well. but some claim this is just playing silly burgers.