Friday, May 18, 2007

Definition of the day

Pray v.

To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.

From The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Pierce


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is so good I'll swallow the spluttering and join in:

Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.

Religion. A daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to Ignorance the nature of the Unknowable.

Brit said...

KILT, n. A costume sometimes worn by Scotchmen in America and Americans in Scotland.

Anonymous said...

Here's one I'd like to dedicate to Dawkins, Hitchens and all my good rationalist friends whose beliefs are based solely on hard, material, first-order evidence:

Positive, adj.: Mistaken at the top of one's voice.

monix said...

My favourite:
GRAMMAR, n. A series of pitfalls thoughtfully prepared for the feet of the self-made man, along the path by which he advances to distiction.

Hey Skipper said...

SAINT, n. A dead sinner revised and edited.

Ambrose Bierce

joe shropshire said...

The only one I remember:

CONSERVATIVE, n.
A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.

Ali said...

Idiot

A member of a large and powerful tribe whose influence in human affairs has always been dominant and controlling.