Related:

• MEANDER, n. To proceed sinuously and aimlessly. The word is the ancient name of a river about one hundred and fifty miles south of Troy
  which turned and twisted in the effort to get out of hearing when the Greeks and Trojans boasted of their prowess....
• BERENICE'S HAIR, n. A constellation (_Coma Berenices_) named in honor of one who sacrificed her hair to save her husband.
  Her locks an ancient lady gave Her loving husband's life to save...
• CORPORAL, n. A man who occupies the lowest rung of the military ladder.
  Fiercely the battle raged and, sad to tell, Our corporal heroically fell!...
• CEMETERY, n. An isolated suburban spot where mourners match lies, poets write at a target and stone-cutters spell for a wager.
  The inscriptions following will serve to illustrate the success attained in these Olympian game...
• PANDEMONIUM, n. Literally, the Place of All the Demons.
  Most of them have escaped into politics and finance, and the place is now used as a lecture hall by the Audible Reformer....
• PIGMY, n. One of a tribe of very small men found by ancient travelers in many parts of the world, but by modern in Central Africa only.
  The Pigmies are so called to distinguish them from the bulkier Caucasians -- who are Hogmies....
• CONVENT, n. A place of retirement for woman who wish for leisure to meditate upon the vice of idleness.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• LUMINARY, n. One who throws light upon a subject; as an editor by not writing about it.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...
• INJUSTICE, n. A burden which of all those that we load upon others and carry ourselves is lightest in the hands and heaviest upon the back.
  -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary...