Letter A — 43 entries
← Front PageNo need to have any notion of his philosophy, nor even to know the titles of his works. Just refer discreetly to his mutilation by Fulbert. The grave of Abelard and Heloise: if someone tells you it is apocryphal, exclaim: "You rob me of my illusions!"
If he had worn a wig, Joab could not have murdered him. Facetious name for a bald friend.
Extra-violent poison: one glass and you're dead. Newspapermen drink it as they write their copy. Has killed more soldiers than the Bedouin.
Run it down, but try to belong to it if you can.
Always "regrettable" or "unlucky"—as if a mishap might sometimes be a cause for rejoicing.
Add "fleet of foot": people will think you've read Homer.
The ruin of young men of good family. Are fearfully lascivious; engage in "nameless orgies"; run through fortunes; end in the poorhouse. "I beg to differ, sir: some are excellent mothers!"
Always brave. Invariable swear-word: "Shiver my timbers!"
Large fortunes are made by it.
Come first. A woman must not refer to hers. The most important thing in life. Be-all and end-all.
One of the two nourishing breasts of the state (the state is masculine, but never mind). Should be encouraged. Short of hands.
Beware of drafts of air. The depths of the air are invariably unlike the surface. If the former are warm, the latter is cold, and vice versa.
Its use is to describe the most beautiful parts of a woman's body.
Always preceded by white, perfidious or Positivist. Napoleon only failed by a hair's breadth to conquer it. Praise it: "freedom-loving England."
Famous for his dog's tail. Typical debauchee. Consorted with Aspasia.
Cause of all modern diseases. (See Absinthe and Tobacco.)
Always preceded by "mad," unless it be "noble."
Famous examples of injustice: Columbus discovered it and it is named after Amerigo Vespucci. If it weren't for the discovery of America, we should not be suffering from syphilis and phylloxera. Exalt it all the same, especially if you've never been there. Lecture people on self-government.
You will know of only one, that of the Beaux-Arts School.
Mention him and his lion when someone speaks of animal tamers.
Eminently suitable for love and literature.
Stirs the blood; healthful to yield to it now and then.
"If only dumb animals could speak! So often more intelligent than men."
Model to cite in front of a spendthrift. Suggested the idea of savings banks.
Voltaire, Renan...
Always modern fakes.
Out of date, an awful bore.
Always in a mess, with feminine garments strewn about. Stale cigarette smoke. A search would reveal amazing things.
Always "perfect" or "diabolical."
"None to be had again this year."
On hearing his name, shout "Eureka!" Or else: "Give me a fulcrum and I will move the world." There is also Archimedes' screw, but you are not expected to know what it is.
All idiots: they always forget to put in the stairs.
There are but four architectural orders. Forgetting, of course, the Egyptian, Cyclopean, Assyrian, Hindoo, Chinese, Gothic, Romanesque, etc.
Despise and envy it.
The bulwark of society.
Found in everything. Bring up Mme. Lafarge. And yet certain peoples eat it.
Shortest path to the poorhouse. What use is it since machinery can make things better and quicker?
All charlatans. Praise their disinterestedness (old-fashioned). Express surprise that they dress like everyone else (old-fashioned). They earn huge sums and squander them. Often asked to dine out. Woman artist necessarily a whore. What artists do cannot be called work.
Animal known through Cleopatra's basket of figs.
Always a coward, even when he acted with daring and courage. Yet less reprehensible than a firebug.
Delightful science. Of use only to sailors. In speaking of it, make fun of astrology.
"A nation of atheists cannot survive."
One should "know a few," never mind their names.