In this book, the author's major goal is to impart writing precision lessons. Precision is crucial for good writing, which is really just clear thinking in writing form. It is achieved by selecting a term that fully and accurately captures the writer's intention and by avoiding words that either imply or suggest something else. According to Quintilian, the writer should write in a way that the reader can't help but understand. An edition of Ambrose Bierce's famous manual of proper speech with annotations is presented by one of America's leading linguists. Although "The Devil's Dictionary" is what Ambrose Bierce is most known for, the prolific writer, humorist, and fabulist was also an expert in the proper language. Few words have more than one literal and useful meaning, despite the fact that lexicographers may think it worthwhile to collect as many metaphorical, derivative, linked, or even unrelated meanings from all types and conditions of men in order to inflate their ludicrous and misleading dictionaries. The author of this small manual of solecisms affirms this true and useful interpretation, which is not always established by derivation and infrequently by widespread usage.
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War warrior who lived from June 24, 1842, in Meigs County, Ohio, to Marcus Aurelius Bierce and Laura Sherwood Bierce. Between 1620 and 1640, his ancestors immigrated to North America as a result of the Great Puritan Migration. At age 15, he left home to work as a printer's devil for a nearby newspaper. Ambrose Bierce engaged in combat in the Battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War. He worked for General William Babcock Hazen and received a first lieutenant appointment. He had a catastrophic head injury in June 1864 while on leave from his active duty. On December 25, 1871, he wed Mary Ellen "Mollie" Day, and they had three kids. His daughter Helen passed away from pneumonia, and both of his boys passed away before to him. They split up in 1904. The next year, Mollie Day Bierce passed away. His most well-known tales were produced quickly between 1888 and 1891. His frequently mentioned book The Devil's Dictionary, which debuted in book form in 1906, is among his most well-known works.More than 50 novels, short tales, films, TV series, stage plays, and comic comics have fictionalized Bierce.