KILT, n. A costume sometimes worn by Scotchmen in America and Americans in Scotland.
Interpretation
The quote humorously comments on cultural attire and identity.
Ambrose Bierce's quote plays on the humorous ambiguity of cultural costumes, specifically the kilt, as it highlights the irony of how attire can become a marker of identity that is fluid between different cultures, particularly between Scots in America and Americans in Scotland. It suggests that what we choose to wear can often defy and complicate traditional cultural boundaries.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about cultural appropriation in fashion.
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.
When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel - it's vulgar.
Ballet: men wearing pants so tight that you can tell what religion they are.
There's something very authentic about humor, when you think about it. Anybody can pretend to be serious. But you can't pretend to be funny.
Comedy holds the greatest risk for an actor, and laughter is the reward.
I quickly laugh at everything for fear of having to cry.
I never joined the Boy Scouts. I don't trust any organization that has a handbook.
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