« All Famous Quotes · Ambrose Bierce's Page
Famous Quotes by Ambrose Bierce
- Famous, adj.: Conspicuously miserable.
- Revelation: a famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who know nothing.
- MALTHUSIAN, adj. Pertaining to Malthus and his doctrines, who believed in artificially limiting population, but found that it could not be done by talking. Herod…
- SIREN, n. One of several musical prodigies famous for a vain attempt to dissuade Odysseus from a life on the ocean wave. Figuratively, any lady…
- LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous serpents.…
- Hash, x. There is no definition for this word - nobody knows what hash is. Famous, adj. Conspicuously miserable. Dictionary, n. A malevolent literary device…
- Patriotism, n. Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name. In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as…
- Acquaintance: "A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight when…
- ELEGY, n. A composition in verse, in which, without employing any of the methods of humor, the writer aims to produce in the reader's mind…
- PROBOSCIS, n. The rudimentary organ of an elephant which serves him in place of the knife-and-fork that Evolution has as yet denied him. For purposes…
- BABE or BABY, n. A misshapen creature of no particular age, sex, or condition, chiefly remarkable for the violence of the sympathies and antipathies it…
- Acquaintance is a degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor and obscure, and intimate when he is rich and famous.
- MOUSE, n. An animal which strews its path with fainting women. As in Rome Christians were thrown to the lions, so centuries earlier in Otumwee,…
- CARTESIAN, adj. Relating to Descartes, a famous philosopher, author of the celebrated dictum, _Cogito ergo sum_ --whereby he was pleased to suppose he demonstrated the…
- PATRIOTISM, n. Combustible rubbish read to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name. In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as…
- BAAL, n. An old deity formerly much worshiped under various names. As Baal he was popular with the Phoenicians; as Belus or Bel he had…
- IGNORAMUS, n. A person unacquainted with certain kinds of knowledge familiar to yourself, and having certain other kinds that you know nothing about. Dumble was…
- MALTHUSIAN, adj. Pertaining to Malthus and his doctrines. Malthus believed in artificially limiting population, but found that it could not be done by talking. One…
- TROGLODYTE, n. Specifically, a cave-dweller of the paleolithic period, after the Tree and before the Flat. A famous community of troglodytes dwelt with David in…
- LEVIATHAN, n. An enormous aquatic animal mentioned by Job. Some suppose it to have been the whale, but that distinguished ichthyologer, Dr. Jordan, of Stanford…
- REVELATION, n. A famous book in which St. John the Divine concealed all that he knew. The revealing is done by the commentators, who know…
- FAMOUS, adj. Conspicuously miserable. Done to a turn on the iron, behold Him who to be famous aspired. Content? Well, his grill has a plating…
- TOMB, n. The House of Indifference. Tombs are now by common consent invested with a certain sanctity, but when they have been long tenanted it…
- LOSS, n. Privation of that which we had, or had not. Thus, in the latter sense, it is said of a defeated candidate that he…
- LEONINE, adj. Unlike a menagerie lion. Leonine verses are those in which a word in the middle of a line rhymes with a word at…
More Famous Quotes
- To create something exceptional, your mindset must be relentlessly focused on the smallest detail. — Giorgio Armani
- Actually I am very glad that people can buy Armani - even if it's a fake. I like the fact that I'm… — Giorgio Armani
- What we play is life. — Louis Armstrong
- Indeed, wretched the man whose fame makes his misfortunes famous. — Lucius Accius
- Any idiot can get laid when they're famous. That's easy. It's getting laid when you're not famous that takes some talent. — Kevin Bacon
- My dad was an architect, and he wasn't a rich guy, but in our little world in Philadelphia, he was famous. He… — Kevin Bacon
- There is never time in the future in which we will work out our salvation. The challenge is in the moment; the… — James A. Baldwin
- I made my living being 20 or 30 pounds heavier than the average model. And that's where I got famous. — Tyra Banks
- There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I… — George Matthew Adams
- I have been very happy, very rich, very beautiful, much adulated, very famous and very unhappy. — Brigitte Bardot
- One thing about being famous is the people around you, you pay all their bills so they very rarely disagree with you… — Charles Barkley
- Since I was seventeen I thought I might be a star. I'd think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix... I… — Jean-Michel Basquiat