A Dictionary of the English Language

Lore & Background

Johnson took about nine years from contract to publication to complete the work, though he had claimed he could finish it in three. He did so single-handedly, with only clerical assistance to copy illustrative quotations he had marked in books. Johnson produced several revised editions during his life. The Plan received the patronage of Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, but Johnson later felt Chesterfield had not made good on his promise of support. The title page had 'Samuel Johnson' and 'English Language' printed in red. Johnson introduced humour or prejudice into some definitions, such as 'Excise: a hateful tax' and 'Lexicographer: a harmless drudge.'

Reader's Guide

Earlier dictionaries were little more than poorly organized glossaries of obscure or technical words, failing to capture how the language was actually used. Johnson’s dictionary was the first to comprehensively document the English lexicon, drawing on literary quotations to illustrate meanings and including notes on usage. It was published in 1755, after seven years of work by Johnson alone, with only clerical help to copy quotations he had marked in books. The volume was large and expensive, printed as a folio on the finest paper, costing nearly as much to produce as Johnson was paid. The title page featured the author’s name and the book’s subject in red ink. Until the Oxford English Dictionary appeared 173 years later, Johnson’s work was considered the preeminent English dictionary. One scholar ranked it among the greatest single scholarly achievements, especially given the disadvantages under which it was completed. The dictionary arose from a growing literate public and a boom in printed materials, which created demand for standardized grammar, spelling, and definitions. A consortium of London booksellers contracted Johnson for 1,500 guineas, though he had claimed he could finish in three years. Johnson produced several revised editions during his lifetime.

Did You Know?

• Johnson took about nine years from contract to publication to complete the dictionary, though he had claimed he could finish it in three.
• Johnson introduced humorous definitions such as 'Lexicographer: a harmless drudge' and 'Oats: a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.'

A Lineage of Witty Definitions

Before Bierce claimed the satirical dictionary as his own, the tradition of playful lexicography was thin and scattered. Only a handful of entries carried a wink of humor, and those few became famous precisely because they were rare exceptions in an otherwise grave text. This patchwork of incomplete, mostly serious predecessors left the field wide open for someone to build an entire dictionary around satire.

Three Decades of Warming Up

Bierce did not sit down and produce The Devil's Dictionary in a single burst of inspiration. He even dropped jokes into personal correspondence, once defining "missionaries" with a vivid image of seizing a crucifix to beat a dog.

The Wasp and the Theft of an Idea

The satirical dictionary column that became iconic did not originate in Bierce's hands.

From Mixed Reviews to Global Reverence

The work's reputation, however, compounded slowly over the decades that followed. It was translated into numerous languages, quoted endlessly, and imitated by writers around the world, building a global profile that its initial reception never suggested. In the 1970s, the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration included it among "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature." Critics have described it as "howlingly funny," and Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig went further, calling it "probably the most brilliant work of satire written in America" and possibly one of the greatest satirical works in all of world literature. What began as scattered newspaper jokes had become a canonical text.