n. One who makes heavy purchases of ingratitude, without, however, materially affecting the price, which is still within the means of all.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. An order of monks otherwise known as black friars.
She thought it a crow, but it turned out to be
A monk of St. Benedict croaking a text.
"Here's one of an order of cooks," said she—
"Black friars in this world, fried black in the next."
—"The Devil on Earth" (London, 1712)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
She thought it a crow, but it turned out to be
A monk of St. Benedict croaking a text.
"Here's one of an order of cooks," said she—
"Black friars in this world, fried black in the next."
—"The Devil on Earth" (London, 1712)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. Conduct, as determined, not by principle, but by breeding. The word seems to be somewhat loosely used in Dr. Jamrach Holobom's translation of the following lines in the Dies Iræ:
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuæ viæ.
Ne me perdas illa die.
Pray remember, sacred Savior,
Whose the thoughtless hand that gave your
Death-blow. Pardon such behavior.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuæ viæ.
Ne me perdas illa die.
Pray remember, sacred Savior,
Whose the thoughtless hand that gave your
Death-blow. Pardon such behavior.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. The condition of one who has relied on the co-operation of his friends.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n.
1.One who has relied on the assistance of his friends.
2.A pest unkindly inflicted upon the suffering rich.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
1.One who has relied on the assistance of his friends.
2.A pest unkindly inflicted upon the suffering rich.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
v. To ask for something with an earnestness proportioned to the belief that it will not be given.
Who is that, father?
A mendicant, child,
Haggard, morose, and unaffable—wild!
See how he glares through the bars of his cell!
With Citizen Mendicant all is not well.
Why did they put him there, father?
Because
Obeying his belly he struck at the laws.
His belly?
Oh, well, he was starving, my boy—
A state in which, doubtless, there's little of joy.
No bite had he eaten for days, and his cry
Was "Bread!" ever "Bread!"
What's the matter with pie?
With little to wear, he had nothing to sell;
To beg was unlawful—improper as well.
Why didn't he work?
He would even have done that,
But men said: "Get out!" and the State remarked: "Scat!"
I mention these incidents merely to show
That the vengeance he took was uncommonly low.
Revenge, at the best, is the act of a Sioux,
But for trifles—
Pray what did bad Mendicant do?
Stole two loaves of bread to replenish his lack
And tuck out the belly that clung to his back.
Is that all father dear?
There's little to tell:
They sent him to jail, and they'll send him to—well,
The company's better than here we can boast,
And there's—
Bread for the needy, dear father?
Um—toast.
—Atka Mip
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
Who is that, father?
A mendicant, child,
Haggard, morose, and unaffable—wild!
See how he glares through the bars of his cell!
With Citizen Mendicant all is not well.
Why did they put him there, father?
Because
Obeying his belly he struck at the laws.
His belly?
Oh, well, he was starving, my boy—
A state in which, doubtless, there's little of joy.
No bite had he eaten for days, and his cry
Was "Bread!" ever "Bread!"
What's the matter with pie?
With little to wear, he had nothing to sell;
To beg was unlawful—improper as well.
Why didn't he work?
He would even have done that,
But men said: "Get out!" and the State remarked: "Scat!"
I mention these incidents merely to show
That the vengeance he took was uncommonly low.
Revenge, at the best, is the act of a Sioux,
But for trifles—
Pray what did bad Mendicant do?
Stole two loaves of bread to replenish his lack
And tuck out the belly that clung to his back.
Is that all father dear?
There's little to tell:
They sent him to jail, and they'll send him to—well,
The company's better than here we can boast,
And there's—
Bread for the needy, dear father?
Um—toast.
—Atka Mip
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. A rack for the torture of the wicked; a citadel unfortified against remorse.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. The hair that is commonly cut off by those who justly execrate the absurd Chinese custom of shaving the head.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. In the stock market, a broker who, having sold short, uses his customers' stocks to break the price.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. A method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would not yield to the tongue.
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
n. A kind of mystic ceremony substituted for religious worship, with what spiritual efficacy has not been determined.
The man who taketh a steam bath
He loseth all the skin he hath,
And, for he's boiled a brilliant red,
Thinketh to cleanliness he's wed,
Forgetting that his lungs he's soiling
With dirty vapors of the boiling.
—Richard Gwow
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
The man who taketh a steam bath
He loseth all the skin he hath,
And, for he's boiled a brilliant red,
Thinketh to cleanliness he's wed,
Forgetting that his lungs he's soiling
With dirty vapors of the boiling.
—Richard Gwow
(also: The Devil's Dictionary)
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