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Ambrose Bierce's cynical attitude is best captured in his satirical masterpiece "The Devil's Dictionary", which originated in newspaper columns before being collected into a single publication.
7 Ambrose Bierce quizzes and 85 Ambrose Bierce trivia questions.
1.
  Ambrose Bierce's Definitions of the Cynic   great trivia quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Ambrose Bierce, noted cynic, wrote "The Devil's Dictionary" in which he defined concepts according to his witty and pessimistic view of the world. Can you match the definition to the word?
Very Easy, 10 Qns, Allison03, Dec 27 16
Very Easy
Allison03
683 plays
2.
  Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The following definitions are from "The Devil's Dictionary", compiled by American journalist and writer Ambrose Bierce. You need to supply the missing word or phrase. (Hint: Don't forget that he was known as a cynical pessimist.)
Average, 10 Qns, suomy, Jun 29 13
Average
suomy
365 plays
3.
  A Horseman in the Sky    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a typical story by Ambrose Bierce, who was anything but a typical author. He was a cynical storyteller and a master of irony.
Average, 10 Qns, srfield99, Apr 17 08
Average
srfield99
351 plays
4.
  "Devil's Dictionary" definitions    
Multiple Choice
 25 Qns
Ambrose Bierce (1842-?) (motto: "nothing matters"), great - and rare - American satirist. Here are some definitions from his most famous work; you have to guess which word he's defining. The interesting info contains some more of his biting wit.
Tough, 25 Qns, anselm, May 31 06
Tough
anselm
443 plays
5.
  The Devil's Dictionary   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Devil's Dictionary is a collection of sharp, witty and cynical definitions by Ambrose Bierce, so bear this in mind when answering the questions. For example, his definition of a Coward, is 'One, who in a perilous emergency thinks with his legs.'
Tough, 10 Qns, exit10, May 31 06
Tough
exit10 gold member
947 plays
6.
  Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary" is a lexicon of sardonic, ironic, and bitingly humorous definitions written by Bierce during his long career.
Average, 10 Qns, kingofmates, Jul 30 12
Average
kingofmates
221 plays
7.
  The Boarded Window    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Ambrose Bierce seems to have been very eccentric and most of his stories deal with death. "The Boarded Window" is one of his better known works.
Average, 10 Qns, srfield99, Mar 03 08
Average
srfield99
206 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Infancy, n. 'The period of our lives when according to ___________ 'Heaven lies about us.' The world begins lying about us pretty soon afterward.'

From Quiz "The Devil's Dictionary"




Related Topics
  American Literature [Literature] (51 quizzes)

  Humor and Satire [Literature] (20 quizzes)


Ambrose Bierce Trivia Questions
1. "Birth (noun): The first and direst of all __________." What is the missing word?

From Quiz Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: Disasters

The quote continues: "As to the nature of it there appears to be no uniformity. Castor and Pollux were born from the egg. Pallas came out of a skull. Galatea was once a block of stone. Peresilis, who wrote in the tenth century, avers that he grew up out of the ground where a priest had spilled holy water. It is known that Arimaxus was derived from a hole in the earth, made by a stroke of lightning. Leucomedon was the son of a cavern in Mount Aetna, and I have myself seen a man come out of a wine cellar." Very classical. As far as is known, Ambrose Bierce was born in a more conventional way in Ohio during 1842. He was the tenth of thirteen children, all of whom had first names beginning with the letter 'A'. His father built up a collection of books which gave Ambrose his foundation in literature.

2. "Litigation, n. A machine which you go into as a pig and come out as a __________."

From Quiz Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: sausage

Much like the American political process. Ambrose Bierce was a contemporary of Mark Twain, and his sardonic wit reflects that of Twain....and in some ways, setting the stage for others like Will Rogers.

3. At the beginning of the story, a young Union soldier lay in a laurel bush with his hand on his rifle. What crime had he committed?

From Quiz A Horseman in the Sky

Answer: He was asleep on duty.

"He was asleep at his post of duty. But if detected, he would be dead shortly afterward, death being the just and legal penalty of his crime." Wow, that is strict!

4. Murlock lived "only a few miles" from which present day city?

From Quiz The Boarded Window

Answer: Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati borders the Ohio River and is a beautiful city with a rich history of riverboat industry. Castle Rock is, of course, a fictional town featured in Stephen King stories.

5. What's the word Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary" defines as "An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another"?

From Quiz "Devil's Dictionary" definitions

Answer: Happiness

This definition gives you a taste of the others. Not very comfortable, is he? Bierce died in 1913. Or did he? He went to Mexico that year (at the age of 71!) to fight alongside Pancho Villa. No-one actually knows what happened to him. It's nice to think that he just lives on somewhere, looking cynically over our oh-so-civilised shoulders and, in the manner of the above definition, sneering.

6. Dictionary, n. 'A malevolent literary device for cramping growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic. This ___________ however, is a most useful work.'

From Quiz The Devil's Dictionary

Answer: Dictionary

Date: {1526;} Etymology: Medieval Latin dictionarium, from Late Latin diction-, dictio word, from Latin, speaking. He didn't think much of dictionaries, except of course his own.

7. "Learning (n): The kind of ___________ distinguishing the studious." What word did Ambrose Bierce use here?

From Quiz Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: Ignorance

Quite a few others have provided a definition for 'learning'. Along the same lines perhaps, Albert Einstein is noted for saying: "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." Schooled in Indiana, Bierce left home in 1857 at the age of fifteen to start work as an apprentice printer for the anti-slavery newspaper 'Northern Indianan'. His writing career did not start until after his wartime experiences.

8. "Twice, adv. Once too __________."

From Quiz Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: often

Deja vu need not apply. Bierce had a long career in journalism, starting as a teenaged printer's assistant for an Indiana newspaper.

9. Why was the soldier, Carter Druse, positioned in that particular spot?

From Quiz A Horseman in the Sky

Answer: He was a sentry.

He was a lone sentry, guarding five Union regiments which were resting in the woods below. They were planning an attack on a nearby camp of Confederate soldiers for the following day.

10. What was the name of Murlock's young bride?

From Quiz The Boarded Window

Answer: It is not known.

"There is no known record of her name." Hopefully, no one guessed "June Cleaver".

11. What's the word Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary" defines as "The greased pig in the field game of American politics"?

From Quiz "Devil's Dictionary" definitions

Answer: Presidency

Political corruption was one of Bierce's hobby-horses, probably because, unlike today's state of affairs, contemporary political conditions in North America invited such treatment from a satirist. Here's a sample, from his "Fantastic Fables": A Boss who had gone to Canada was taunted by a Citizen of Montreal with having fled to avoid prosecution. 'You do me a grave injustice,' said the Boss, parting with a pair of tears. 'I came to Canada solely because of its political attractions; its Government is the most corrupt in the world.' 'Pray forgive me,' said the Citizen of Montreal. They fell upon each other's neck, and at the conclusion of that touching rite the Boss had two watches.

12. What is 'Purchasing the barrel of whiskey that you do not need, for the price of the cow that you cannot afford.'?

From Quiz The Devil's Dictionary

Answer: Economy

Etymology: Middle French yconomie, from Medieval Latin oeconomia, from Greek oikonomia, from oikonomos household manager, from oikos house + nemein to manage.

13. "Cannon (n): An instrument employed in the rectification of national _________." How did Bierce the cynic finish this?

From Quiz Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: Boundaries

This suggests that Bierce saw war as an instrument for territorial acquisition. His own wartime experiences had a strong influence in his writings and resulted in a number of short stories such as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge". This was first put on celluloid in the 1929 silent film "The Bridge". With the start of the American Civil War, Bierce enlisted in the Union army. He was involved in numerous engagements including the Battles of Rich Mountain (1861), of Shiloh (1862), of Chickamauga (1863) and of Kennesaw Mountain (1864). He received a serious head wound at this last battle.

14. "Congratulation, n. The civility of __________."

From Quiz Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: envy

Political correctness ahead of its time. Ambrose joined the Union Army at the start of the Civil War. Wounded in action in 1864, he recovered and transferred to San Francisco.

15. Carter Druse was only a few miles from his home in western Virginia. What had his wealthy father said when Carter had announced that he would join the Union army?

From Quiz A Horseman in the Sky

Answer: "Well, go sir, and whatever may occur do what you conceive to be your duty."

His father was actually against the idea and said that they would talk more about it if they both survived until the end of the war.

16. One day, Murlock went hunting and returned to find his wife delirious with fever. He tried to nurse her back to health but she died. Why did he care for her by himself?

From Quiz The Boarded Window

Answer: There were no physicians or neighbors within miles.

Also, he thought she was too sick to be left alone and it would have taken him days to find help.

17. What's the word Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary" defines as "The infancy of youth, the youth of manhood, the entire past of age"?

From Quiz "Devil's Dictionary" definitions

Answer: Yesterday

He supplies this poem to further elucidate: "But yesterday I should have thought me blest To stand high-pinnacled upon the peak Of middle life and look adown the bleak And unfamiliar foreslope to the West, Where solemn shadows all the land invest And stilly voices, half-remembered, speak Unfinished prophecy, and witch-fires freak The haunted twilight of the Dark of Rest. Yea, yesterday my soul was all aflame To stay the shadow on the dial's face At manhood's noonmark! Now, in God His name I chide aloud the little interspace Disparting me from Certitude, and fain Would know the dream and vision ne'er again. Baruch Arnegriff It is said that in his last illness the poet Arnegriff was attended at different times by seven doctors." This is about as whimsical and elegiac as Bierce gets. There, did you enjoy it? Now put your hankies away again....

18. What is 'A species of snake. So called from its habit of adding funeral expenses to the other expenses of living.'?

From Quiz The Devil's Dictionary

Answer: Adder

Etymology: Middle English, from an addre, alteration of a naddre, a snake, from Old English ndre, snake.

19. "Wit (n): The ______ with which the American humorist spoils his intellectual cookery by leaving it out." What word is missing from the recipe?

From Quiz Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: Salt

Through his journalistic writings, Bierce gained a reputation as 'the wickedest man in San Francisco' for his damning observations and caustic wit. After leaving the army Bierce started writing as a journalist in San Francisco. He wrote for a number of publications including 'The San Francisco News Letter'. The origins of "The Devil's Dictionary" can be traced to his involvement with this paper.

20. "Recollect, v. To recall with __________ something not previously known."

From Quiz Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: additions

"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story" -- Mark Twain Bierce married while in San Francisco, and wrote for a variety of publications.

21. Murlock was too grief-stricken to bury his wife on the day she died. He laid her body on a table in their cabin and finally fell asleep. What noise came repeatedly through an open window, from the dark woods, while he slept?

From Quiz The Boarded Window

Answer: an eerie wailing sound

It was a "long wailing sound, like the cry of a lost child". How creepy is that?

22. What's the word Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary" defines as "An agency employed by civilized nations for the settlement of disputes which might become troublesome if left unadjusted"?

From Quiz "Devil's Dictionary" definitions

Answer: Gunpowder

Compare his definition of "cannon": "An instrument employed in the rectification of national boundaries".

23. Infancy, n. 'The period of our lives when according to ___________ 'Heaven lies about us.' The world begins lying about us pretty soon afterward.'

From Quiz The Devil's Dictionary

Answer: Wordsworth

Coming from 14th century meaning 1) early {childhood;} 2) a beginning or early period of {existence;} 3) the legal status of an infant.

24. "Mercy (n): An attribute beloved of _________________." The weak? The good? What did Bierce put down?

From Quiz Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: Detected offenders

Bierce seems to have had a fairly cynical view of relationships. This may have reflected his own marriage break-down. He separated from his wife in 1888 when he discovered compromising letters to her from an admirer. Some more of his definitions: "Husband (n): One who, having dined, is charged with the care of the plate" and "Marriage (n): The state or condition of a community consisting of a master, a mistress and two slaves, making in all, two." Bierce and his wife Mollie Day moved to England in 1872 for three years where his writing earned him the nickname of 'Bitter Bierce'. He wrote for the 'Fun' magazine (a competitor of 'Punch' magazine) and published several books under the pseudonym of Dod Grile. His three children were also born during this time. He returned to San Francisco in 1875 hoping to pick up where he left off.

25. "Selfish, adj. Devoid of consideration for the __________ of others."

From Quiz Ambrose Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: selfishness

Mother Teresa, please forgive us. Bierce and family travelled to England from 1872-1875, and then returned to San Francisco. In 1875, he submitted his first comic word definitions, initially called "The Demon's Dictionary."

26. Eventually, the horseman turned and looked directly at Druse, though he couldn't actually see him. What was Druse's reaction?

From Quiz A Horseman in the Sky

Answer: Druse was terrified.

"Carter Druse grew pale; he shook in every limb. This courageous gentleman and hardy soldier was near swooning from intensity of emotion."

27. What's the word Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary" defines as "Enough"?

From Quiz "Devil's Dictionary" definitions

Answer: Once

Compare his definition of "more": "The comparative degree of 'too much'".

28. What is 'A place of retirement for women who wish for leisure to meditate upon the vice of idleness.'?

From Quiz The Devil's Dictionary

Answer: Convent

From 13th century. Etymology Middle English convent, from Old French, from Medieval Latin conventus, from Latin, assembly, from convenire.

29. "Overwork (n): A dangerous disorder affecting high public functionaries who want ____________." What words complete the definition?

From Quiz Bierce's "The Devil's Dictionary"

Answer: To go fishing

Bierce did not think much of politicians and public officials. Here is his definition of 'politics': "A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." Back in USA he ended up working for the "San Francisco Examiner". An example of his journalism comes from when the first transcontinental railway was being built with Government loans under generous terms. The railway companies sought to have Congress quietly pass a bill excusing them from repayment. Bierce was despatched to report on the matter. When one of the railway owners tried to bribe him, he published his answer in the newspaper. The bill failed.

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