Known as Bitter Bierce, the writer Ambrose Bierce spent years ironically redefining the terms for a host of people, things, actions, and concepts, compiling his redefinitions into the "The Devil's Dictionary." In this article, the author describes how she uses this caustic work as a model for an exercise when her developmental writing class begins studying definitions and preparing to write a definition paragraph essay. There are numerous benefits to this exercise: students study the structure of a formal definition and use both creativity and critical thinking as they practice writing their own.