Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.
Ambrose Bierce Quotes
Innate, adj. Natural, inherent – as innate ideas… that we are born with… The doctrine of innate ideas is one of the most admirable faiths of philosophy, being itself an innate idea and therefore inaccessible to disproof.
Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
Erudition, n. Dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull.
Scrap-book, n. A book that is commonly edited by a fool. Many persons of some small distinction compile scrap-books containing whatever they happen to read about themselves or employ others to collect.
The covers of this book are too far apart.
Diary, n. A daily record of that part of one’s life, which he can relate to himself without blushing.
Imposition, n. The act of blessing or consecrating by the laying on of hands – a ceremony common to many ecclesiastical systems, but performed with the frankest sincerity by the sect known as Thieves.
White, adj. and not Black.
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 of Judea, all the famous soldiers have been practical exponents of the Malthusian idea.
