Ambrose Bierce, from ‘The Devil’s Dictionary’ to disappearing in Mexico, with Jim Norrena

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Mignon Fogarty, Inc.

Society & Culture, Education

4.5 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

1082. Copy editor Jim Norrena joins us this week for a conversation about Ambrose Bierce, his famous "Devil's Dictionary," and his darkly funny take on the world. We look at Bierce’s fascinating (and tragic) life, his legendary wordplay, and his mysterious disappearance in Mexico. Plus, we share our favorite biting definitions and quirky facts about his life. We'd love to have coffee with him, but we'd never forget that he was also a feared literary critic!

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode was originally a bonus episode for Grammar Pellusians who support the show.
0:10.6	It ran back in November, and it's the last of the bonus episodes you'll get for a while,
0:15.8	because next week starts a new season of conversations.
0:19.2	So if you want to get all the bonuses when they first come out
0:22.0	and get ad-free podcasts too, you can learn more at quick and dirty tips.com slash bonus.
0:33.8	Greetings, grammar, Feluzians. I'm in Jan Fogarty and we are, you know, with these bonus episodes, I'm just doing all sorts of experimental things. And today, I just wanted to talk about a fun thing with a fun person. So I'm here with Jim Norena, who is a coffee editor. I met many years ago when I spoke at the Bay Area Editors Forum, and then he
0:56.7	also came to my book signing in the Bay Area in California. Jim, thanks so much for being here
1:02.1	with me today. Oh, it is definitely my pleasure, and it's very good to see you again. Yeah, you too.
1:08.8	So we're going to talk, once we get started, we're going to talk about
1:11.4	the Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Beers, which is just this wonderfully funny, delightful book.
1:18.0	But before we start, can you talk about what is the Bay Area Editor's Forum where I met you?
1:22.4	And what kind of work do you do? Oh, great question. Bay Area Editor's Forum has been around for, gosh, probably
1:29.8	20 to 30 years and serves as a resource for freelance editors, writers, proofreaders, and certainly
1:40.1	some of the editors are full-time employees, but it serves as a resource to help editors
1:46.2	introduce their skill sets and define their specialties so that people who are looking to hire
1:53.5	an editor can go to Bay Area Editor's Forum and they can actually use the search function to find an editor that might specialize
2:04.1	in the area that they're, you know, responsible for. So it's been a wonderful organization
2:12.2	to be a part of because you're definitely with like people. Yeah. no, I really enjoyed speaking before that audience.
2:19.6	It was, I remember great questions and just really nice people.
2:22.5	They adored you.
2:25.2	Maybe that's why it was so much fun.
2:28.0	Yeah, a hard audience.
	...

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