It is only clever, conceited men, proud of their neat little minds, who think that because they cannot fathom the causes of the war, it might easily have been prevented.

Commonly also satirical taunts do owe their seeming piquancy, not to the speaker or his words, but to the subject, and the hearers; the matter conspiring with the bad nature or the vanity of men who love to laugh at any rate, and to be pleased at the expense of other men's repute; conceiting themselves extolled by the depression of their neighbour, and hoping to gain by his loss.

Ardmore had never been considered a truly bad fellow, though he was foppish, conceited and wholly unable to understand why anything that he wanted should be denied him.

" "Conceited!"

There were wise men and self-deluded fools, manly, well-bred men, and effeminate, conceited coxcombs, who wore stays and did up their back hair, used paint, and daubed their cheeks with violet powder.

It would indeed be conceited on our part to claim that we, who are the originators of this new science and its new conclusions, deserve alone the credit for its existence.

Great lawyers and great statesmen are rarely so egotistical and conceited as poets, novelists, artists, and preachers.

Moreover the Scholars feel themselves to be a privileged class 'on the foundation,' and this feeling gives them a sort of conceited happiness.

Lady, I come to free My worthy freind and your owne servant, Bonvill, From an uniust suspition your conceite Retaines of him.

I cry you mercy, lady; you are shee Whom I had vowd to love;a wild conceite Had seasd my fancy.

At your conceite to thinke I was a Clock: I am a watch, I never strike.

As a lowely earnest, I give this curtesie before, And in conceite I give ye twenty more.

Oh! for quick conceite to beget a jest!

Til then weele feede on conceite; Tully, thanke me, but for your companie I would not tarry so long; come, Tully, since we shall bee married all at one time, weele goe to bed so, and he shall be maister of the Cock-pit that bids his Gossips first.

Oft has it been my lot to mark A proud, conceited, talking spark, With eyes that hardly served at most To guard their master 'gainst a post: Yet round the world the blade has been To see whatever can be seen.

"Awful conceited and not overly polite," said Susie as she took off her bonnet and went into a revel of bows and trimmings.

BACKBITE (Sir Benjamin), nephew of Crabtree, very conceited, and very censorious.

At first she dislikes Benedick, and thinks him a flippant conceited coxcomb; but overhearing a conversation between her cousin Hero and her gentlewoman, in which Hero bewails that Beatrice should trifle with such deep love as that of Benedick, and should scorn so true and good a gentleman, she cries, "Sits the wind thus?

DOGBERRY AND VERGES, two ignorant conceited constables, who greatly mutilate their words.

(See PERRYBINGLE.) DOTHEBOYS HALL, a Yorkshire school, where boys were taken-in and done-for by Mr. Squeers, an arrogant, conceited, puffing, overbearing and ignorant schoolmaster, who fleeced, beat, and starved the boys, but taught them nothing.

An hospitable, conceited, whimsical old gentleman, who forever interrupts a speaker with "Yes, yes, I know it," or "Be quiet, I know it."

There are thirty-seven piecesall in humorous and "righte merrie conceite."

This flat and conceited couplet, and note, the noble author judged it proper to omit in the corrected edition of his poem.

A lively volume with many shreds of wit and humour, and occasional patches of "righte merrie conceite," has just fallen into our hands, and has afforded us some very pleasant reading.

Stuart is competent, sober and industrious, but talkative and conceited.