OYSTER, n. A slimy, gobby shellfish which civilization gives men the hardihood to eat without removing its entrails! The shells are sometimes given to the poor.
Interpretation
The quote humorously critiques civilization's penchant for eating oysters, highlighting societal norms around consumption and poverty.
Ambrose Bierce's quote uses satire to comment on the strange yet accepted practice of consuming oysters, which are portrayed as slimy and unappetizing. It reflects a critique of how civilization encourages people to eat such things without considering their unpleasant nature, and juxtaposes this with the idea that shells, the discarded remains, are offered to the poor, hinting at deeper societal issues regarding wealth and resource distribution.
In practice
A humorous caption for a food blog discussing the peculiarities of gourmet dining.
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
I was an ugly kid; when I was born, after the doctor cut the cord, he hung himself.
Comedians walk out, get a feel for the crowd. If it's not going good, we change directions. If we got to drag your momma into this thing, we will. Whatever we got to do.
Of course I talk to myself. I like a good speaker, and I appreciate an intelligent audience.
People who are rather more than six feet tall and nearly as broad across the shoulders often have uneventful journeys. People jump out at them from behind rocks then say things like, "Oh. Sorry. I thought you were someone else.
I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.
A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
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