Defining Irony

[edwardandtubs]

You can't be ironic or sarcastic on thaivisa without a poster popping up who completely misses the irony. I often wondered why until I found this explanation on Wikipedia's sarcasm entry:

'Understanding the subtlety of this usage requires second-order interpretation of the speaker's intentions. This sophisticated understanding can be lacking in some people with certain forms of brain damage, dementia and autism.'

[kennedy]

I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard spot on this topic.

[bannork]

'We had to destroy the town in order to save it' An American general doing irony in the Vietnam War.

[mogandave]

Does anyone remember "Irony Theater"?

[mca]

Giving the peace prize to Kim Jong-un, would that be ironic or an oxymoron?

A transgression from irony to sarcasm often happens via an oxymoron and tends to end the dissimulation of meaning.

I think my head is about to explode.

Don't worry mate that happens to me when there's more than 4 choices of canned ice coffee in the 7-11 cooler.

[RubbaJohnny]

When something is the oppsite to what you would expect.

Obama winning the peace prize for example.

Giving the peace prize to Kim Jong-un, would that be ironic or an oxymoron?

Counterintuitive or conafactual may hone your lexis

[StreetCowboy]

When something is the oppsite to what you would expect.

Obama winning the peace prize for example.

Giving the peace prize to Kim Jong-un, would that be ironic or an oxymoron?

Counterintuitive or conafactual may hone your lexis

zzaa?

[SimonD]

Counterintuitive or conafactual may hone your lexis

zzaa?

No, too garrulous for zz...

Edited September 1, 2012 by SimonD

[giddyup]

Farangs complaining about the rights that immigrants get in their home countries, whilst whining about the lack of rights they have in Thailand.

Is that irony or just plain old whinging ?

God ,are there expats here complaining that the Thai govt dont give free medical care,free housing ,money to live on every week ,pensiones and dont hand out brochures in 50 different languages ,plus free legal aid ? like immegrants do in Britain, bastards let me at em/

I agree. We're not immigrants here for a start. If the same welfare benefits existed in Thailand as Australia, I'd get busy having 10 kids and be unemployable.

[McMagus]

Closest I can come to it is by way of example .. ex Samuel Taylor Coleridge

' Water water everywhere nor any drop to drink'

[tinfoilhat]

When something is the oppsite to what you would expect.

Obama winning the peace prize for example.

Giving the peace prize to Kim Jong-un, would that be ironic or an oxymoron?

Counterintuitive or conafactual may hone your lexis

zzaa?

no, none of the words were made up

[TommoPhysicist]

Words which convey a meaning opposite to their literal intent.

Edited September 10, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

Irony is difficult to define for a number of reasons including that of having a significant overlap with sarcasm.

An additional difficulty arises in that irony is not homogeneous, there being a cluster of separate but related types of irony.

A simple way of distinguishing irony from sarcasm is that irony, unlike sarcasm, is said to be without ridicule.

I think of sarcasm and irony as a continuum. At one end of the spectrum there is pure sarcasm, which is and is meant to be cruel and cutting and the other end of the spectrum is the evidencing of a connection between certain facts or events that could never have been contemplated and which is hurtful to no one. The middle ground is the area which evades definition.

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

Just believing in stereotypes? Gotcha!

“Incidentally, forgive a detour here, but if there is one misapprehension about Americans that annoys me more than any other, it is the lofty claim, usually made by the most dim-witted and wit-free Britons, that America is an – ho-ho – “irony free zone”. Let it be established here, this day, that no one, on pain of being designated fifty types of watery <deleted>, ever dare repeat that feeble, ignorant, self-satisfied canard ever ever again. Americans are no more irony illiterate than Britons or anyone else and the repeated assertion (and it is no more than an assertion not a demonstrable provable fact) is no more than a pathetic symbol of a certain kind of Briton’s flabby need to convince themselves of their sophisticated superiority over the average American. Now, don’t feel bad about the fact that you, dear listener/reader have, at some point in the past been guilty of repeating and transmitting this feeble myth, we all have. It’s lazy, easy and gives us a warm glow. My war on the lie begins now, and is not retrospective, so you need not feel ashamed. Only promise never to repeat it. Actually, even if you think it’s true, have the grace to recognise that such a clunking, tedious, oft-repeated cliché is so dull and well-worn that it almost doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not, it’s just plain tedious and only bar-stool bores and dull-witted gibbons would ever think it worth trotting out. Besides, it is ugly, graceless and rude.”

Stephen Fry

I wouldn't want to get into a brawl with you but I do recall an English teacher friend of mine who went mad after trying to teach Americans geography!

[rijb]

I've heard about mad Englishmen and their dogs.

“God created war Google Earth so that Americans would learn geography.” ― Mark Twain

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

I've heard about mad Englishmen and their dogs.

“God created war Google Earth so that Americans would learn geography.” ― Mark Twain

Ironical that such an utterance was made by a man, so conspicuously disadvantaged, by having been born into a country distinguished only by it's impoverished understanding of the concept of irony! .

This has certainly caused me to re examine my prejudices

It just shows,you can find irony in the most unexpected places..

[chiangmaikelly]

The problem with Irony is that its existance lies in the recognition that an irony has occurred, which in itself requires a sometimes complex comparrison of events and/or use of language often beyond simple minds. Hence the oft made observation that American's just don't do Irony.

Considering all the anti American gibberish that GuestHouse posts it is ironic he chose an American Icon for an avatar.

So as usual GuestHouse does not know shi* from wild honey!

[draftvader]

The problem with Irony is that its existance lies in the recognition that an irony has occurred, which in itself requires a sometimes complex comparrison of events and/or use of language often beyond simple minds. Hence the oft made observation that American's just don't do Irony.

Considering all the anti American gibberish that GuestHouse posts it is ironic he chose an American Icon for an avatar.

So as usual GuestHouse does not know shi* from wild honey!

Are you warning us not to have breakfast at GuestHouse's place?

[chiangmaikelly]

The problem with Irony is that its existance lies in the recognition that an irony has occurred, which in itself requires a sometimes complex comparrison of events and/or use of language often beyond simple minds. Hence the oft made observation that American's just don't do Irony.

Considering all the anti American gibberish that GuestHouse posts it is ironic he chose an American Icon for an avatar.

So as usual GuestHouse does not know shi* from wild honey!

Are you warning us not to have breakfast at GuestHouse's place?

I think he is off playing polo right now in Pattaya so it is OK to dine at his place. He seems to know all of the young women there who ride horses.... So.....

[evadgib]

The biggest Irony to strike me this week is that the Christian world only fell about laughing when the Pythons released the Life of Brian.

Edited September 15, 2012 by evadgib

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

The biggest Irony to strike me this week is that the Christian world only fell about laughing when the Pythons released the Life of Brian.

It's definitely incongruity but I'm not sure if it's irony as well?

[euca]

Sailing as a first voyage junior sparks years ago I was on the receiving end of some beautiful irony from the French operator on Amsterdam Island. It wasn't what he said it was the smooth way he sent the morse that was ironic. Later I got a deserved blast of sarcasm from the bloke at Adelaide radio [because my morse wasn't much good then] - I was about to repeat the figures when he sent 'OK, recd, don't make it worse'. Both in one trip.

[JaiRaiJaiDee]

The problem with Irony is that its existance lies in the recognition that an irony has occurred, which in itself requires a sometimes complex comparrison of events and/or use of language often beyond simple minds. Hence the oft made observation that American's just don't do Irony.

I suppose one could find some irony in your use of an American for your Avatar.

[evadgib]

The biggest Irony to strike me this week is that the Christian world only fell about laughing when the Pythons released the Life of Brian.

It's definitely incongruity but I'm not sure if it's irony as well?

I believe it was filmed in Tunisia using extras that were m-m-m....

[Rajab Al Zarahni]

The biggest Irony to strike me this week is that the Christian world only fell about laughing when the Pythons released the Life of Brian.

It's definitely incongruity but I'm not sure if it's irony as well?

I believe it was filmed in Tunisia using extras that were m-m-m....

I read somewhere that St George,the patron saint of England was probably Tunisian. Is that an irony or is it more likely that he really was English but just on holiday.

[theslime]

The biggest Irony to strike me this week is that the Christian world only fell about laughing when the Pythons released the Life of Brian.

It's definitely incongruity but I'm not sure if it's irony as well?

I believe it was filmed in Tunisia using extras that were m-m-m....

I read somewhere that St George,the patron saint of England was probably Tunisian. Is that an irony or is it more likely that he really was English but just on holiday.

After reading these posts I suppose coming from a VERY Tolerant society, and having problems with our imported Intolerant society that only got to the tolerant society because of our Tolerance. Sounds Ironic I think.