In this case, I will have to take issue with Webster, learned though he may be.

Many English speakers tend to pronounce the word "sake" with a long "e" sound: "sah-kee." This is an understandable mistake, though it is still a mistake. Japanese rice wine, "sake," is properly pronounced "SAH-keh," with a short "e" at the end, and spelled similarly.

"Saki" is indeed a Japanese word, and means "ahead" or "before" (among other things,) but do not make the mistake of saying that you enjoy dreaking "saki"; you won't be understood.

Contrary to popular opinion, Saki is actually an author.
He wrote many short stories, a few novels, and a play or two, and they are all extremely funny.

Saki's stories are all (loosely) about the cracks in society, and are extremely sarcastic and piercing. His first stories were about Reginald, and later he introduced a new character, Clovis, but towards the end of his career and the coming of war he moved on to random stories about politics.

Saki, for me, has many wonders. One is his inimitable writing style; his ability to write in widely differing genres, from high comedy, such as in 'The Brogue', to suspense, as in 'The Mouse', and to tragic drama, like 'The Easter Egg' and 'The Wolves of Cernogratz'.
Another is his ability to create a dramatic opening and climactic ending in the short space available to the short story writer: his stories fire the imagination, and they entertain as well. They bring us to the brink and back with a smile on our faces.

If this small taster of Saki's brilliant books has fired you up, you can probably buy a collection of his short stories for a reasonable price. I have on the bookshelf next to me his complete short stories purchased for the princely sum of £1.
Be warned though: once you start reading, you will not be able to stop until your heart is empty.
British satirist and author (1870-1916). Born Hector Hugh Munro, he took his pseudonym from the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam. He was a master of the short story and is often compared to O. Henry--both men wrote short stories with ironic endings, though Saki's stories tend to be far sillier than O. Henry's. Saki wrote many of his stories for British newspapers.

Some of his best stories include: "Gabriel-Ernest", "The Open Window", "Laura", "The Schwartz-Matterklume Method", "Mrs. Packletide's Tiger", "Sredni Vashtar", "The Storyteller", "The Lumber Room", "The Wolves of Cernogratz", "The Guests", "The Penance", "The Interlopers", and "The Mappined Life".

Sa"ki (?), n. [Cf. F. & Pg. saki; probably from the native name.] Zool.


⇒ The black saki (Pithecia satanas), the white-headed (P.leucocephala), and the red-backed, or hand-drinking, saki (P.chiropotes), are among the best-known.


© Webster 1913.

Sa"ki (?), n.

The alcoholic drink of Japan. It is made from rice.

<-- usu. spelt sake -->


© Webster 1913.
