The Wasp — 1880 — page 75: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page is primarily a **dictionary of satirical definitions** rather than a cartoon. "WASP's Improved Webster" mocks various social types and behaviors through humorous redefinitions. Notable entries include: - **DEMI-MONDE**: People living on questionable means - **DETECTIVE**: A man who disguises himself to uncover secrets - **DESPOTISM**: Throwing a cabbage at a servant - **DISCOURAGEMENT**: Similar mockery The small illustrations show figures in everyday situations—a couple, a man at a window, a woman—depicting the behaviors being satirized. The satire targets **class pretension, hypocrisy, and social vices** common to late 19th-century American urban life. The dictionary format allows the magazine to deliver multiple quick jabs at human foibles rather than developing one elaborate political cartoon.