-One of the most popular satirical works of American literature- "DICTIONARY, n. A malevolent literary device for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This dictionary, however, is a most useful work." - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary A celebrated journalist in his lifetime, Ambrose Bierce's began circulating his own sardonic, mischievous definitions of words in his various columns for San Francisco newspapers. Over several years these were then compiled and expanded into entries for a mock dictionary originally published as The Cynic's Word Book. One of the most popular satirical works of American literature, The Devil's Dictionary brilliantly lays bare the hypocrisies of American society and displays a razor-sharp wit to rival that of Bierce's contemporary Mark Twain. Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) was a famed journalist and essayist of the late 19th century. He was also one of America's sharpest cynics. His legacy was entombed in The Devil's Dictionary: a satirical lexicon originally published in 1906.