# Q explained — The Devil’s Dictionary

> Chapter companion for The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.

## What happens

This chapter presents cynical definitions for words beginning with Q, including Queen, Quill, Quiver, Quixotic, Quorum, Quotation, and Quotient, each satirizing politics, language, human folly, and social conventions.

## Themes in this chapter

### Politics and Power

The definition of 'Quorum' satirizes political bodies and the manipulation of power, referencing the U.S. Senate and House.

### Human Folly and Self-Deception

Definitions like 'Quill' and 'Quotation' mock human pretension and error, highlighting folly in writing and speech.

### Language and Meaning

The chapter plays with words and their ironic or literal meanings, especially in 'Quotation' and 'Quixotic'.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The narrator provides the definitions and commentary throughout the chapter.

## Key lines

> Queen A woman by whom the realm is ruled when there is a king, and through whom it is ruled when there is not.

A queen is a woman who rules the country when a king is present, and through whom the country is ruled when there is no king.

_Satirizes the limited and indirect power of queens in monarchies._

> Quill An implement of torture yielded by a goose and commonly wielded by an ass.

A quill is a torture device made from a goose feather, often used by a fool.

_Criticizes writers and the pain of writing._

> Quorum A sufficient number of members of a deliberative body to have their own way and their own way of having it.

A quorum is the minimum number of members needed for a group to get what they want, and to have their own method of getting it.

_Mocks the self-serving nature of political assemblies._

> Quotation The act of repeating erroneously the words of another.

Quotation is the act of incorrectly repeating someone else's words.

_Highlights the common inaccuracy in quoting._

> Quotient A number showing how many times a sum of money belonging to one person is contained in the pocket of another—usually about as many times as it can be got there.

A quotient is a number indicating how often one person's money ends up in another's pocket, which is as often as possible.

_Satirizes greed and the transfer of wealth._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_devil_s_dictionary_se/chapters/q
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_devil_s_dictionary_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_devil_s_dictionary_se/chapters