Someone is so fat they cant bend down to pick up a bag of food that lies at their feet and then as a result end up dying of starvation Answer Sure, I think your example is ironic: a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite or … Read more
What do you call it when you profess inauthentic sympathy for past behavior when that behavior has directly benefited you? Hypothetical Example: my family members from 175 years ago burned down some rival family’s house so that my family could build a house in that spot, and, 175 years later, I discover oil on that … Read more
A couple weeks ago I was watching an episode of Forensic Files on Netflix, when a specific grammatical technique (I honestly don’t know what else to call it) was mentioned. The name fails me, but I remember it was something like “Ironic Something-ism”. The best example that comes to mind was a quote from a … Read more
A. A. Milne, best known for his books about Winnie-the-Pooh, is much less noted as a prolific playwright of about forty plays. They are carefully crafted works that continue to entertain and delight readers and audiences of all ages in UK, but not in Japan. I have recently translated some of his plays into Japanese … Read more
Comment on Reddit Today I learned that TIL Mark David Chapman planned to kill David Bowie and had a front row seat (along with John & Yoko) for Bowie’s Broadway show the day after killing John The irony is that David Bowie’s first #1 hit “Fame”, from the Young Americans album which came out forty-one … Read more
My linguistic skills fail me and I’d like some advice. I have a project that currently works exactly as intended, short and sweet, yet a higher up has changed their mind and are asking for it to be done a certain way in order for it to match their concept of “simple”. Ironically, this is … Read more
Please do not read the following if you have never read Oedipus or are unfamiliar with the plot of the play, in case it spoils the reading for you: In Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King, the dramatic irony of much of Oedipus’ earlier words is not revealed until we learn from Teiresias that Oedipus is … Read more
For example, your friend asks whether you’ve repaired the lawn mower. You respond as though your friend were referring to a hired hand who mows your lawn, saying something silly like, “He seems perfectly healthy to me.” Is that irony? I’ve always had trouble grasping the concept. Answer The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English … Read more
I just stumbled over this from http://braythwayt.com/2015/05/04/grammar-matters.html : "I’d like to thank the employees of FormerCo, who made me feel that my contribution mattered." "I’d like to thank the employees of FormerCo who made me feel that my contribution mattered." One is a lovely tribute to a good company’s people. The other is a passive-aggressive … Read more
There is a dry-erase board. It has a shopping list on it. At the bottom of the shopping list, I added “Dry-erase Markers”. But I did this in permanent marker, because we were all out of dry-erase markers. Is this ironic? Why or why not? Answer From dictionary.com ” Ironic literature exploits, in addition to … Read more
