A CYNIC'S MUSINGS.

Colonist, Volume L, Issue 12158, 5 February 1908, Page 4

A CYNIC'S MUSINGS.

There is a 'cynical person somewhere to-day who does not place entire faith in existing dictionaries. Some of our definitions, he says in New York "Life," need considerable revision, and^he suggests that a beginning might well be*"made with ,gome of the commonner words. Here are a few of the emendations he proposes ;— t 3Jj*«r Batcfcelor— A wild'goose that tame geese envy. t^Z Cigar—A martyr whose life is consumed in establishing its charaoter. Coat— A scabbard that offers no guarantee for the' blade it sheathes. Coquette— A mirror that receives all images, but preserves none. Conversation — An idle man's business, but a busy man's' idleness. Critic— A 'censor' who often revenges his own failures- on others' successes. ■ Debt— One of the examples- set by Government to the people. Dinner — The breakfast of the poor and the supper of the rich. Fashion — A decree that followed enchanceT beauty, but renders ugliness more conspicuous. Z Justice— Truth in action. Lawyers — Co-heirs of intestates. Love — The lens that magnifies the good. Pawnbroker— A man that for a consideration,- holds your coat while you fight. Tenderness— Love's passsion in repose. Theatre— Nature in the House of Correction.