On my kindle I have been clicking around in Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary.
It is a very clever take on the self-serving way we redefine things in our lives.
Here are a few that cracked me up:
ACQUAINTANCE, n. A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. A degree of friendship called slight when its object is poor or obscure, and intimate when he is rich or famous.
ADMIRATION, n. Our polite recognition of another’s resemblance to ourselves.
ALLIANCE, n. In international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other’s pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third.
SELF-ESTEEM, n. An erroneous appraisement.
SELF-EVIDENT, adj. Evident to one’s self and to nobody else.
SELFISH, adj. Devoid of consideration for the selfishness of others.
TALK, v.t. To commit an indiscretion without temptation, from an impulse without purpose.