Related:

• T, the twentieth letter of the English alphabet, was by the Greeks absurdly called _tau_.
  In the alphabet whence ours comes it had the form of the rude corkscrew of the period, and when it stood alone (which was more than the Phoenicians could always do) signified _Tallegal_, translated by the learned Dr....
• W (double U) has, of all the letters in our alphabet, the only cumbrous name, the names of the others being monosyllabic.
  This advantage of the Roman alphabet over the Grecian is the more valued after audibly spelling out some simple Greek word, like _epixoriambikos_....
• AVERNUS, n. The lake by which the ancients entered the infernal regions.
  The fact that access to the infernal regions was obtained by a lake is believed by the learned Marcus Ansello Scrutator to have suggested the Christian rite of baptism by immersion....
• J is a consonant in English, but some nations use it as a vowel -- than which nothing could be more absurd.
  Its original form, which has been but slightly modified, was that of the tail of a subdued dog, and it was not a letter but a character, standing for a Latin verb, _jacere_, "to throw," because when a stone is thrown at a dog the dog's tail assumes that shape....
• GENEROUS, adj. Originally this word meant noble by birth and was rightly applied to a great multitude of persons.
  It now means noble by nature and is taking a bit of a rest....
• NON-COMBATANT, n. A dead Quaker. -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary
• TURKEY, n. A large bird whose flesh when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude.
  Incidentally, it is pretty good eating. -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• Egotist, n.: A person of low taste, more interested in himself than me.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• CONSOLATION, n. The knowledge that a better man is more unfortunate than yourself.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...