as·pire/əˈspī(ə)r/verb
- direct one’s hopes or ambitions toward achieving something.
cur·mudg·eon/kərˈməjən/noun
- a bad-tempered or surly person.
Curmudgeonry should be practiced outdoors and in public view. It needs wit but it also needs exhilaration; otherwise, it is sullenness, or witty sullenness at best. The exhilaration comes from the risk of saying outrageous things; the risk requires that everyone, including the target, should hear them. H. L. MENCKEN