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-Word Fun - Irony - Ironic
Word Fun - Irony
Irony is a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.
The New Oxford English Dictionary
Instances of supposed irony in Ironic
An old man turned ninety-eight He won the lottery and died the next day not ironic It's a black fly in your Chardonnay could be ironic (1) It's a death row pardon two minutes too late could be ironic (2)
It's like rain on your wedding day could be ironic(3) It's a free ride when you've already paid ironic (4) It's the good advice that you just didn't take not ironic
Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye He waited his whole damn life to take that flight And as the plane crashed down he thought "Well isn't this nice..." ? not ironic
A traffic jam when you're already late. not ironic
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break. ironic(5)
It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife. could be ironic(6)
It's meeting the man of my dreams And then meeting his beautiful wife. ironic(7)
Scorecard says:
not ironic - 4
could be ironic - 4
ironic 3
total 7 out of 11 were or could be considered ironic depending on the circumstances.
footnotes:
1- Chardonnay implies an enjoyable drinking experience; therefore, in the context, it could be ironic that instead of an enjoyable drinking experience, the drinker got a bug.
2- While most people attribute this to simple bad luck, the pardon could be considered ironic, as it only occurred as a result of the persons execution (although Im inclined to disagree with this one, because it didnt cause the death)
3- One does NOT expect rain on ones wedding day; if we extrapolate to the impact said rain has on the event (like when it rained on my brothers wedding day, and the wedding was outside, and it basically ruined the whole day), then it would meet the definition above.
4- One pays for a ride because one does not expect to get it for free. to get it for free right after paying is definitely ironic.
5- One goes on a cigarette break to smoke. Youre leaving a place you cant smoke to go smoke. to therefore end up in a place to have your smoke, only to find out you cant smoke there, is ironic.
6- This ones trickier it depends where shes looking for the spoons. If its in a cutlery drawer, its definitely ironic. If its in a spoon store, its not. We need context.
7- The man of your dreams is most likely not married hes available to spend eternity with you. If the phrase said meeting the man who could be the man of your dreams, it wouldnt be ironic. But meeting the man you are going to spend your life with, only to find out hes already spending it with someone else, is indeed ironic.
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