FREETHINKER, n. A miscreant who wickedly refuses to look out of a priest’s eyes, and persists in looking into them with too searching a glance.
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914?) American writer and journalist
“Freethinker,” “Devil’s Dictionary” column, San Francisco Wasp (1885-01-17)
(Source)
Not collected in later books.
Great! Love “Devil’s Dictionary”.
I’m having a lot of fun recently going through entries that Bierce only ever put in the newspaper, not including them in his book collections.