Ambrose Bierce's Definitions of the Cynic Quiz

Answer: OUTDO

Did you notice that there was only one verb in the ten definitions of this quiz? That was a little hint for the observant.

"The Devil's Dictionary" defines "FRIENDSHIP, n. A ship big enough to carry two in fair weather, but only one in foul." Ambrosebierce.org says "For numerous reasons, Bierce left the Wasp [column] in 1886. During his time at the journal, his talents as a serious writer had very nearly reached maturity. For about a year Bierce had no position to speak of, and found it difficult to place his work because of the enemies he had made as an outspoken and unforgiving social critic." Bierce had many enemies, and I could find no record of friends. But this had nothing to do with the verb "outdo" sadly, and all to do with his attacks on others, deserved or not.

Answer: INHUMANITY

"The Ambrose Bierce Project" details Bierce's familiarity with war. He was shot in the Civil War. "During the fighting at Kennesaw Mountain on June 23, 1864, Bierce suffered a grievous head wound from a Confederate bullet." He was very vocal about the Spanish-American War, and in the late 1800s the U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs. One can be sure he saw much inhumanity in the various wars, and his final war interest was in the Mexican Revolution. Ambrosebierce.org says "Having reached the end of his literary career, and feeling the need for change and adventure, Bierce made plans to leave Washington for good.

His letters to family and associates suggest that he was seeking an end in revolutionary Mexico. Famously, he wrote to his niece that it would be 'a pretty good way to depart this life' to be 'stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags.'"

Answer: FIB

Perigee: the point nearest a planet or a satellite (as the moon) reached by an object orbiting it. (Merriam-Webster) Fib: the closest a liar comes to the truth (Allison03, reworded definition by Bierce). Cynic: a faultfinding captious critic (Merriam-Webster). Bierce dealt with many politicians in his job at "The San Francisco Examiner", where he was invited to work by William Randolph Hearst. I speculate that Bierce heard a lot of lies in that job.

Answer: HABIT

"thehistorybandits.com" says that "Several academics have theorized that Bierce suffered from lifelong post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to which he used his writing as an outlet." Bierce's habits seem to include reading and writing, and that was a shackle in that he built a cage around himself with his barbed words.

His writings, however, were not limited to cynical definitions and derogatory reviews. He published short stories such as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek" in 1890, and continued to produce other collected works of short stories during his lifetime.

Answer: PAINTING

Ambrose Bierce, according to "Delphi Complete Works of Ambrose Bierce" did some drawing! He made a series of cartoons lampooning political figures of the time. The drawings were stolen, and the thief (who had sold the drawings) confessed to Bierce. However, there is no record of Bierce trying his hand at drawing again.

It sounds, from the "protecting flat surfaces from the weather" part of his definition of "Painting" that Ambrose Bierce did not have a high opinion of artistic painting. Of course, "The Devil's Dictionary" is proof that he did not have a high opinion of much.

Answer: EGOTIST

According to online-literature.com, Ambrose Bierce was the youngest boy, born tenth of thirteen children. I don't think there was much room for ego, in a household of limited means and fifteen mouths to feed. This is one of the less hostile definitions in "The Devil's Dictionary" and I find the hint of self-deprecating humor a relief. Perhaps there was some charm in the Bierce brain?

Answer: LOVE

Ambrose Bierce married, despite his disparaging definitions of love and marriage. On Christmas day, 1871, Bierce married Mary "Mollie" Ellen Day, and the couple had three children. But they separated in 1888, and divorced in 1904, according to a biography of Bierce on renegadeartsentertainment.com.

The "definitions" that would later be compiled into "The Devil's Dictionary" (originally called "The Cynic's Word Book" according to online-literature.com) began with his job at "The San Francisco Examiner" in 1886. Since the dates of separation of marriage and harsh writings do not coincide in a glaring "I see why he became so bitter!" way, I just assume that Ambrose Bierce was a writer who showed bitterness and cynicism, and his life's experiences may or may not have contributed to that.

Answer: EULOGY

Bierce saw death in his personal life, as well as in his war experiences. His divorced wife, Molly, died in 1905. According to renegadeartsentertainment.com, his first son Day, was shot and died in 1889. His second son, Leigh, died two years later. Bierce may have been influenced by his personal life and a family with tragic events.

But he also had a dark wit and so the "Eulogy" definition may have just been part of it. "His darkly sparkling wit is wonderfully illustrated in an anecdote told by Cathy Davidson in her Foreword to The Complete Short Stories. 'His desk', she writes, 'held a skull and a cigar box.

When asked, he ventured that the former was all that remained of an erstwhile friend while the latter contained the ashes of a rival critic. Reputedly', she adds, 'he did not smile when he said this.'"

Answer: EMETIC

Ambrose Bierce had opinions which spanned medical treatments, to the common grave robbers, which he connected to medical students (and to the old physicians who put the bodies in the grave). One of his short stories, "One Summer Night", published in 1893, revolved around a man buried alive and two medical students who dealt in grave robbing.

Answer: CANE

Ambrose Bierce would have been 71 years old when he disappeared, last seen in Chihuahua, Mexico. There is no account of him using a cane to admonish anyone, so perhaps Bierce annoyed one too many cane-wielding folk. Bierce was wont to make attacks on writers, politicians, and anyone who annoyed him. According to sfmuseum.org, "Ambrose Bierce's stinging denunciation of Oscar Wilde appeared in the March 31, 1882, edition of 'The Wasp.' Wilde had spoken in San Francisco on March 27, 1882, though there is no record of what Wilde thought of Bierce's comments."

Wilde, however, did comment in "The Critic as Artist" about critics in general: "A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." Wilde was reported to carry a jewel-topped cane. Hmmmm.