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Thread: irony

  1. 22-May-2012, 16:04 #1
    Csika
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    Default irony

    Hi,

    Look at this ironic sentence:

    My mother-in-law is a brilliant woman.

    I wonder why the speaker said this in spite of the literal 'My ... is bossy, etc.'

    I know an answer could be 'to criticise'. Anything else apart from that?

    Thank you very much.

    Csika
    Last edited by Csika; 22-May-2012 at 16:13.
  2. 22-May-2012, 16:19 #2
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    5jj
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    Default Re: irony

    We would need far more context to comment. On its own, the sentence 'My mother-in-law is a brilliant woman' is not ironic.
    Context is important. Please provide enough for us to be able to deal effectively with your question.
    Your thread title should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.
    If you just want to know the meaning of a word, try OneLook Dictionary Search first.

  3. 22-May-2012, 16:25 #3
    Csika
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    Default Re: irony

    Ok. Two friends are talking. One of them got married last Saturday. His friend asks:

    How about your mother-in-law? What is she like?

    As a reply the other says in an ironic tone of voice:

    She is brilliant.

    Why do you think he said that in an ironic tone of voice?
  4. 22-May-2012, 17:20 #4
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    Default Re: irony

    Quote Originally Posted by Csika View Post
    Ok. Two friends are talking. One of them got married last Saturday. His friend asks:

    How about your mother-in-law? What is she like?

    As a reply the other says in an ironic tone of voice:

    She is brilliant.

    Why do you think he said that in an ironic tone of voice?
    Presumably he was intending to be sarcastic.
    Csika likes this.
    Context is important. Please provide enough for us to be able to deal effectively with your question.
    Your thread title should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.
    If you just want to know the meaning of a word, try OneLook Dictionary Search first.

  5. 22-May-2012, 17:23 #5
    Csika
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    Default Re: irony

    Hm. I thought irony and sarcasm were the same thing.

    Csika
  6. 25-May-2012, 23:45 #6
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    Default Re: irony

    Quote Originally Posted by Csika View Post
    Hm. I thought irony and sarcasm were the same thing.

    Csika
    They're not. Look at the lyrics of "Ironic" by Alannis Morissette here for plenty of examples of irony.
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  7. 26-May-2012, 20:59 #7
    Van Veen
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    Default Re: irony

    Sarcasm is a subset of irony. I will now proceed to write an ironic sentence:

    "Alanis Morisette is an expert on the subject of irony."
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  8. 05-Jun-2012, 23:18 #8
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    Default Re: irony

    Quote Originally Posted by imane-usa View Post
    Is there any differences between irony and sarcasm?
    irony - definition of irony by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
    sarcasm - definition of sarcasm by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
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