Tag Archives: humor

The Devil’s Dictionary: Presidency

Posted on June 8, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Presidency, n. The greased pig in the field game of American politics.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

Tagged , ,

Sinclair Lewis on Advertising

Posted on June 7, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless.”

Sinclair Lewis

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Portable Curmudgeon. New York: Plume, 1992.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

Tagged , ,

The Algonquin Wits: Franklin Pierce Adams on Confidentiality

Posted on June 3, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Ninety-two percent of the stuff told you in confidence you couldn’t get anyone else to listen to.”

Franklin Pierce Adams

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, New York City, Quotes, Reference

Tagged ,

The Devil’s Dictionary: Corporation

Posted on June 3, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000. 

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

Tagged ,

Rotten Reviews: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Posted on June 1, 2019 | Leave a comment

“The most insipid, ridiculous play that I ever saw in my life.”

 Samuel Pepys, Diary

Excerpted from: Barnard, Andre, and Bill Henderson, eds. Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1998. 

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference

Tagged , ,

Ben Hecht on History, Chronology, and Journalism

Posted on June 1, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock.”

Ben Hecht

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

Tagged , ,

The Algonquin Wits: Robert Benchley Requests a Taxi

Posted on April 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Coming out of a midtown restaurant, Benchley spotted a uniformed man at the door. ‘Would you get us a taxi, please,’ he asked the man. ‘I’m sorry,’ the man said coldly, ‘I happen to be a rear admiral in the United States Navy.’ ‘All right then,’ said Benchley, ‘get us a battleship.'”

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, New York City, Quotes, Reference

Tagged ,

The Devil’s Dictionary: Adage

Posted on April 21, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Adage, n. [1.] Boned wisdom for weak teeth. [2.] A hoary-headed platitude that is kicked along the centuries until nothing is left of it but its clothes. A ‘saw’ which has worn out its teeth on the human understanding.”

Ambrose Bierce

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000. 

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences

Tagged ,

An Affectionate View of the Feline Race

Posted on April 11, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Cat: One Hell of a nice animal, frequently mistaken for a meatloaf.”

B. Kliban, U.S. Cartoonist, (1935-1990)

Cat

Excerpted from: Shapiro, Fred, ed. The Yale Book of Quotations. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference

Tagged

The Devil’s Dictionary: Amateur

Posted on April 10, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Amateur, n. A public nuisance who mistakes taste for skill, and confounds his ambition with his ability.” 

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000.

Leave a comment

Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference

Tagged ,