Ambrose Bierce, The Cynic's Dictionary (1906); republished as The Devil's Dictionary (1911).
“
GHOST, n. The outward and visible sign of an inward fear.
— Ambrose Bierce on Ghosts
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "GHOST, n. The outward and visible sign of an inward fear." in the context of "Ambrose Bierce, The Cynic's Dictionary (1906); republished as The Devil's Dictionary (1911)." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ghosts" (Quotes: Alphabetically by author name.)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – date of death uncertain; probably late 1912 or early 1914) was an American satirist, critic, short story writer, editor and journalist. He is perhaps most famous for his serialized mock lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary, in which, over the years, he scathed American culture and accepted wisdom by pointing out alternate, more practical definitions for common words.
About Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – date of death uncertain; probably late 1912 or early 1914) was an American satirist, critic, short story writer, editor and journalist. He is perhaps most famous for his serialized mock lexicon, The Devil's Dictionary, in which, over the years, he scathed American culture and accepted wisdom by pointing out alternate, more practical definitions for common words.
View all quotes →