English language -- Dictionaries -- Humor; English language -- Semantics -- Humor; Vocabulary -- Humor
FREEMASONS, n. An order with secret rites, grotesque ceremonies, and
fantastic costumes, which, originating in the reign of Charles II, among
working artisans of London, has been joined successively by the dead of
past centuries in unbroken retrogression until now it embraces all
the generations of man on the hither side of Adam and is drumming up
distinguished recruits among the pre-Creational inhabitants of Chaos
and the Formless Void. The order was founded at different times by
Charlemagne, Julius Caesar, Cyrus, Solomon, Zoroaster, Confucius,
Thothmes, and Buddha. Its emblems and symbols have been found in the
Catacombs of Paris and Rome, on the stones of the Parthenon and the
Chinese Great Wall, among the temples of Karnak and Palmyra and in the
Egyptian Pyramids--always by a Freemason.
FRIENDLESS, adj. Having no favors to bestow. Destitute of fortune.
Addicted to utterance of truth and common sense.
FRIENDSHIP, n. A ship big enough to carry two in fair weather, but none
in foul.
The sea was calm and the sky was blue;
Merrily, merrily sailed we two.
(High barometer maketh glad.)
On the tipsy ship, with a dreadful shout,
The tempest descended and we fell out.
(O the walking is nasty bad!)
Armit Huff Bettle.
FROG, n. An amphibious reptile with edible kickers. When young, this
creature is called a Mary wog or Thaddeuspole, and as such maintains
a tail, subsequently eschewed. The first mention of frogs in profane
literature is in Homer's narrative of the war between them and the mice.
Skeptical persons have doubted Homer's authorship of the work, but the
learned, ingenious, and industrious Dr. Schliemann has set the question
forever at rest by uncovering the bones of the slain frogs. One of the
forms of moral suasion by which Pharaoh was lobbied in favor of the
Israelites was a plague of frogs, but Pharaoh, who liked them fricasêe,
remarked, with truly oriental stoicism, that he could stand it as long
as the frogs and the Jews could; so the programme was changed. The frog
is a diligent songster, having a good voice but no ear. The libretto of
his favorite opera, as written by Aristophanes, is brief, simple, and
effective--"brekekex-koâx"; the music is apparently by that eminent
composer, Richard Wagner. Horses have a frog in each hoof-- a thoughtful
provision of nature, enabling them to jump.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account