2025 Addenda to The Devil's Dictionary

Abstract

About three-dozen definitions, in the style of Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary (1911). Sample definitions:

Activist, noun. A vociferous defender of an indefensible political, economic, or social idea. Synonyms: lunatic; outside agitator.

Court, noun. An institution identified, from ancient times to the present, as a source of abuse, bias, intellectual dishonesty, oppression, and unfairness. "Moreover, I saw in life that the courts of law were places of injustice, and that the courts of equity were places of iniquity." Ecclesiastes 3:16. 

DEI, abbreviation. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.

Diversity means people of all backgrounds, but not white people.

Equity means without regard to ability, experience, knack, performance, and training.

Inclusion means without Jews, and without Christian supporters of Israel.

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free”, genocidal chant. Voiced daily by Mohammedans and their university-campus followers.

Gun control, noun phrase. Negation of the Second Amendment without the inconvenience of repealing that amendment. Synonym: domestic unilateral disarmament.

Israel, noun. A country bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Mediterranean Sea, the boundary of which is not recognized by international law.

Palestine, noun. A fictional country, bordered by Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Mediterranean Sea, the boundary of which is recognized by international law.

Poetic justice, noun phrase. Ironic reward or condign punishment, brought about by circumstance rather than by judicial formality.

Tragedy, noun. To large-corporation news-gatherers, this word does not mean a Greek tragedy or a Shakespearian tragedy. It means any public event in which a person suffers death or grievous harm. In the present age, laid low by egalitarianism, the person is Everyman, not a heroic protagonist such as Oedipus or King Lear.

See Stephen Krueger, “All About Wile E. Coyote”

https://ssrn.com/abstract=4979005

Keywords: literary device, one-liner, parody, activist, Animal Farm, ballot, Brave New World, constitution, cynic, dupery, gun control, Huxley, international law, irony, jihad, jury, Kafka, migrant, monetarism, Newspeak, 1984, Orwell, oval office, poetic justice, political humor, spoof, supreme court