RIBALDRY, n. Censorious language by another concerning oneself.
Interpretation
This quote humorously defines ribaldry as the critical remarks others make about oneself.
Ambrose Bierce's definition of 'ribaldry' cleverly highlights the irony of criticizing others for their vulgar or immoral remarks while often being the subject of similar criticisms ourselves. It suggests a playful take on human nature and the tendency to engage in gossip and judgment about one another, often through a humorous lens.
In practice
This quote could be featured in a comedy show about social interactions and misunderstandings.
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 seems like once people grow up, they have no idea what's cool.
You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by.
The main evolutionary significance of humor is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.
I've made so many people angry that they kind of blur into one unpleasant memory of people staring at you with somewhere between passive aggression and active aggression.
Some debts are fun when you are acquiring them, but none are fun when you set about retiring them.
There is no such thing as fun for the whole family.
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