lyre

the devils dictionary
n. An ancient instrument of torture. The word is now used in a figurative sense to denote the poetic faculty, as in the following fiery lines of our great poet, Ella Wheeler Wilcox:

I sit astride Parnassus with my lyre,
And pick with care the disobedient wire.
That stupid shepherd lolling on his crook
With deaf attention scarcely deigns to look.
I bide my time, and it shall come at length,
When, with a Titan's energy and strength,
I'll grab a fistful of the strings, and O,
The world shall suffer when I let them go!
—Farquharson Harris
(also: instruments of torture)
(also: ancient instruments of torture)
(also: modern instruments of torture)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

old people

trustycoffeemug
humans who have done a lot of aging, reaching the later stages of the species' life span.

in many cultures, old people are revered for their wealth of experience, just as they are shunned for being weird, liver-spotted grouches who drive you up the wall with their interminable rambling stories

i left my textbook at home

snape
(phrase) The hapless predicament experienced by students desperately seeking knowledge but thwarted by the absence of a crucial educational tome. A masterclass in forgetfulness, resulting in panic, creative improvisation, and daring acts of textbook retrieval. A tale of woe that ignites the sympathy of teachers, evokes theatrical sighs, and teaches the valuable lesson of double-checking one's backpack before embarking on academic adventures.


(also: I didn't have enough time to finish it)
(also: I left it at home by mistake)
(also: I was sick and couldn't complete the work)
(also: I had a family emergency)
(also: I didn't have access to the necessary resources)

orientalism

randomman
In race & racism, orientalism is the idea that western society is the "occident", and all other cultures and countries are "Orient". Orient didn't just mean asian, it mean middle eastern, indian, etc. Basically Europe seeing itself as the center of the universe and that all other cultures are "exotic".

This concept is problematic because it encourages othering and sets western culture as the "norm".

logic

the devils dictionary
n. The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding. The basis of logic is the syllogism, consisting of a major and a minor premise and a conclusion — thus:
Major Premise: Sixty men can do a piece of work sixty times as quickly as one man.

Minor Premise: One man can dig a post-hole in sixty seconds; therefore —

Conclusion: Sixty men can dig a post-hole in one second.

This may be called the syllogism arithmetical, in which, by combining logic and mathematics, we obtain a double certainty and are twice blessed.

(also: The Devil's Dictionary)

marriage

thelostghostofnietzsche
A contractual alliance typically between two parties where they agree to share assets and debts. Typical sexual and procreational exclusivity clauses are usually among the first listed in the contract. Comes with an NDA for cases of criminal charges underneath the constitution. The one land only socially accepted escape clause on death of one of the contract holders. However, there exist a method of contractual termination without having activating the escape clause. This method requires documents filled with the appropriate court system and a temporary termination of the contract for a period of sixty to three hundred sixty four days before it can be finalized.

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