Related:

• DELUGE, n. A notable first experiment in baptism which washed away the sins (and sinners) of the world.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• LINEN, n. "A kind of cloth the making of which, when made of hemp, entails a great waste of hemp.
  Calcraft the Hangman. -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• LOQUACITY, n. A disorder which renders the sufferer unable to curb his tongue when you wish to talk.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• HABEAS CORPUS. A writ by which a man may be taken out of jail when confined for the wrong crime.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• QUEEN, n. A woman by whom the realm is ruled when there is a king, and through whom it is ruled when there is not.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• MYRMIDON, n. A follower of Achilles -- particularly when he didn't lead.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• Dawn, n.: The time when men of reason go to bed.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...