FIB, n. A lie that has not cut its teeth. An habitual liar's nearest approach to truth: the perigee of his eccentric orbit.
Interpretation
The quote humorously defines a lie that is not fully developed yet, capturing the essence of dishonesty.
Ambrose Bierce uses wit to describe a fib as a preliminary form of lying, suggesting that it is a less severe version of a full-blown lie. By invoking the image of a habitual liar's approach to truth, he illustrates the complex relationship between honesty and deception, all while employing clever wordplay that elicits a smile.
In practice
In a light-hearted discussion about exaggerations in everyday life.
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
It is a much cleverer thing to talk nonsense than to listen to it.
I like to do things that are publicly embarrassing, to feel the embarrassment touch me and sink into me and then be gone. I like getting on elevators and singing too loudly in that small space. The feeling you feel is almost like a vapor. The discomfort and the wishing that it would end that comes around you.
The dog is very smart. He feels sorry for me because I receive so much mail; that's why he tries to bite the mailman.
The English are busy folk; they have no time in which to be polite.
Calvin: Trick or treat! Adult: Where's your costume? What are you supposed to be? Calvin: I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Madison Avenue and Hollywood, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak... Am I scary, or what?
But do not give it to a lawyer's clerk to write, for they use a legal hand that Satan himself will not understand.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.