>Hi Hilmar,
>
>I did a few web searches on "Ambroise Bierce" and "lexicographer" and your post became very entertaining.

The following are some of my favorite definitions, from the Devil's Dictionary, which I invite you to look up (a search on "Devil's Dictionary" + the desired word should suffice):

back

cannon

mammon

corsair

abdication

air

Well, you might just as well read all of it - you will find many worth-while definitions.

Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire... (from Gulliver's Travels)