JOHN. W. LUCE AND COMPANY
BOSTON MDCCCCIV
_Copyright, 1904, by_ THE
ROBINSON, LUCE COMPANY
_Boston, Mass., U.S.A._
2nd Edition August, 1904.
To
MY DOG,
Who first heard these lines
And didn't run away
MAD,
I Reverently Dedicate
This Tome
"A Fool may give a Wise Man counsel."
_Preface._
In this age of the arduous pursuit of peace, prosperity and
pleasure, the smallest contribution to the gaiety, if not to the
wisdom, of nations can scarcely be unwelcome. With this in mind, the
author has prepared "The Foolish Dictionary," not in serious
emulation of the worthier--and wordier--works of Webster and
Worcester, but rather in the playful spirit of the parodist, who
would gladly direct the faint rays from his flickering candle of
fun to the shrine of their great memories.
With half a million English words to choose from, modesty has been
the watchword, and the author has confined himself to the treatment
of only about half a thousand. How wise, flippant, sober or stupid,
this treatment has been, it is for the reader alone to judge.
However, if from epigram, derivative or pure absurdity, there be
born a single laugh between the lids, the laborer will accredit
himself worthy of his hire.
In further explanation it should be said that some slight deference
has been made to other wits, and the definitions include a few
quotations from the great minds of the past and present. As for the
rest, the jury will please acknowledge a plea of guilty from