return the favor.

[keannu]

Cindy is an ex-girlfriend of Gordon who died in a car race, and she is trying to revenge the killer Ray tonight. Is "return the favor" an ironic or paradoxical expression? It usually means "pay the debt owed to someone".

gw2-14
Cindyl- Ray Peters killed Gordon. Tonight I'm going to return the favor.
Mel- Cindy couldn't hurt me if she tried. - I wouldn't underestimate her.

 

[moonlike]

Cindy is an ex-girlfriend of Gordon who died in a car race, and she is trying to revenge the killer Ray tonight. Is "return the favor" an ironic or paradoxical expression? It usually means "pay the debt owed to someone".

gw2-14
Cindyl- Ray Peters killed Gordon. Tonight I'm going to return the favor.
Mel- Cindy couldn't hurt me if she tried. - I wouldn't underestimate her.

You're right. It's an irony here. It means to revenge.

 

[SoothingDave]

You're right. It's an irony here. It means to revenge.

It's not "an irony." It's an ironic expression, or an expression used ironically. Irony is not used in a countable way.

 

[BobSmith]

It's not "an irony." It's an ironic expression, or an expression used ironically. Irony is not used in a countable way.

Examples of IRONY

• It was a tragic irony that he made himself sick by worrying so much about his health.

Irony - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

 

[5jj]

Cindy is an ex-girlfriend of Gordon who died in a car race, and she is trying to [STRIKE]revenge the killer [/STRIKE]Ray tonight.

She is trying to avenge Gordon's death.
She is trying to avenge herself on Ray's killers.
She is trying to take revenge on Ray's killers.
She is trying to revenge herself on Ray's killers.

 

[SoothingDave]

Examples of IRONY

• It was a tragic irony that he made himself sick by worrying so much about his health.

Irony - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

OK, you can use "irony" in this way to describe a situation. But to describe an expression it seems wrong to me.

 

[Barb_D]

I agree. An irony is a situation. Words are used ironically.

Regardless, using the word "favor" to mean "revenge" is an ironic use of the word "favor."