Questions tagged [irony]
for questions about irony and ironic statements.
87 questions
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Why is “As a white guy who spent his whole career at MIT…” funny [closed]
At 10:40 in this video, the speaker says “As a white guy who spent his whole career at MIT and Harvard, I got no problem with this” and the audience is laughing.
But I couldn't figure out what the ...
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Amusing historical nicknames for the patent office?
I'm looking for amusing (including disparaging) nicknames for the USPTO that can be traced back to an historical primary source, including but not limited to famous inventors such as Thomas Edison or ...
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Use of "ironically" or "unironically" in indicating surprise
Take the following comment:
"Married like a couple of hunters bound together" is the ironically cutest description of marriage I've ever heard
Which spawned a discussion on whether ...
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Does "for all the" mean a contrast or a cause and effect or a irony?
Does "for all the" mean a contrast or a cause and effect?
"For all the work he put in, the project was sure a disaster. "
Does this mean because of all the work he put in, the ...
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Can I use "small" and "little" together to express irony and contempt?
I know the difference between small and little. I see that they are not so commonly used together, in any case less commonly than tiny little, as this Ngram shows.
Here is one example that does not ...
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Is "that's what you get" likely to be used sarcastically/to rub something in?
Take this phrase:
"That's what you get."
The wording implies that it could be used both positively and negatively, à la 'what goes around comes around.' That is, if I do something good, I '...
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Is it irony? What's the word?
What is the word for doing something where said thing is a protest against what you are doing?
Example, posting a facebook status that pokes fun at people copying and pasting statuses and sharing them ...
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Is "Earth is full! Go Home!" an example of sarcasm? If so, why?
Is "Earth is full! Go Home!" an example of sarcasm?
If it is, I'd really like someone to explain why this is sarcastic. From all the definitions I've seen for sarcasm, I've gathered that ...
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What is the term for using a famous person's name to describe another person? [duplicate]
Names of exceptional people are sometimes used colloquially to describe other people. The most prominent example is referring to someone ironically as "Einstein" or "an Einstein," ...
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When did calling someone "Einstein" ironically become common?
In “The Children” (1937) by Howard Fast, a mentally-handicapped youngster is ironically referred to as “Thomas Edison” as Edison probably was, in the USA, the best-known "smart guy".
Today, ...
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Can I ask a question like "Could you please kindly confirm for me ... ?" in a formal email?
After checking the dictionary, I noticed that the usage of "Kindly" in request sentences often expresses a sence of ironic. So I am afraid that my expression might lead to misunderstanding.
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How to say "you added a clause in end of statment"? [closed]
How do you call the act of adding a clasue to the end of a statment, which weakens it and makes it sort-of conditional?
Examples: "Nice to see you, this time!"
"I love it, in a way,
&...
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Difference between "ironic" and "facetiously"?
What is the difference between those adjectives? I've understood that facetiously is used when you're saying something that you don't mean- you're joking, but what differentiates it from (humorous) ...
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What is it called when you build up a statement as something positive, and then make into something negative? [duplicate]
Is there a specific word for when the beginning of a statement is positive, and then you you turn it into a mockery or ridicule?
Examples:
"I really do love Rick, he is my favorite comedian, ...
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Sarcasm without contradiction between literal and appeared meaning
What exactly is the definition of sarcasm?
As I’ve understood it, verbal irony is when the literal meaning of a sentence differs from the appeared meaning (it is opposite/close to opposite). If the ...
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