Once upon a time in grade school, I was told that this was a good example of an oxymoron. Jumbo and shrimp contradict each other right? Well, sort of. Shrimp refers to a fish, not a size. Is it still an oxymoron if the word has two meanings and the meaning used in the oxymoronic phrase is not contradictory of the other word in the phrase?
`They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety’
Yes, I believe so. In any case it is better than the other commonly used oxymoron, ie “military intelligence”. That’s not an oxymoron, and is a very poor example, (It is kinda funny, tho, but only the 1st time you hear it).
I heard it as a double oxymoron:“fresh-frozen jumbo-shrimp”.
Any better examples of REAL oxymorons?
“Oxymoron”, strictly speaking, refers to a device in which two contradictory terms are deliberately put together for rhetorical effect. For example, “belatedly premature”, “slightly in love”, “imperial democracy”. By this standard, “jumbo shrimp” is not an oxymoron.
I don’t imagine that anybody hearing the phrase “jumbo shrimp” thinks that it means “a large small thing” rather than a large example of the sea creature, so I don’t see how there’s any incongruity at all. I suppose that “giant midget” would be an oxymoron, but I can’t imagine when you’d use it.
My favorite oxymoron:
Microsoft Works
“Oh dreadful angel of mine, enrich me with the vastness of your being…”
Just across the street from my office is a gas station/mini-mart called the ‘Mini Giant’.
Yep, it’s oxymoronic, they can’t fly at all.
::deafening silence::
Ok, the “jumbo shrimp” bit started as a joke by Carlin. It wasn’t meant for literal transslation, but yes, it is a poor example.
“Military Intellegence” was also meant in a joking manner.
What about sanitary sewer?
“They’re coming to take me away ha-ha, ho-ho, hee-hee, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time… :)” - Napoleon IV
My boss is a hydromoron. I told him today, “You know, your hair gets pointy when you talk that way.”
AskNott
"Measure twice, cut once. Dang! Measure again, cut again.
Just some random, probably redundant, musings on oxymorons:
Most things identified as oxymorons are intended humorously.
The term oxymoron does not mean a contradiction in terms; rather, it means an apparent contradiction in terms. Whether or not it is an actual nonsensical pair of words is not predetermined. The first example I had heard was weeping optimists. If they’re optimists, how can they be sad? Well, optimists look on the bright side of the future; maybe they’re sad about the past. Or maybe they just got something in their eyes.
How about victorious defeat? Like, when you sue the school district for the right to dress like a nun, and you lose the case, but in doing so you tremendously raise the consciousness of the plight of nun-impersonators in our nation’s schools.
Anyway, the point is, saying somebody made an oxymoron isn’t really a criticism; it’s only a criticism if they did it accidentally or if, upon further refection, it really doesn’t make sense.
Maybe this was local, but at my elementary school in Calgary around 1993 or so, shrimp'' almost always refered to a person of small stature. In that case, jumbo shrimp’’ would be an oxymoron. That’s how I always thought of it.
``You’re just an empty cage girl if you kill the bird.’’ – Tori Amos.
http://www.oxymorons.com/oxymorons.html
airline food
Amtrak schedule
British fashion
business ethics
casual sex
cheerleading scholarship
Christian Scientists
friendly fire
rap music
war games
I believe “deafening silence” would a common example of a real oxymorn.
The “Great Depression” has always amused me. What was so great about it?
great adj.
**1.**Very large in size.
“Jumbo Shrimp:” an orgy of toe-suckers.
Also, a shrimp is not a fish. It’s a crustacean.
Dojo. Casino.
That would be a triple redundancy, not an oxymoron. Culinary oxymorons include Heatless Jalapeno and Excess Garlic and British Cuisine.
JB
Lex Non Favet Delicatorum Votis
I believe he was thinking of steaming hot “chilly”
See what I mean by many of the “oxymorons” being jokes & not oxymorons at all? Cheesehead posted a list of 10, 7 of which are only jokes, 2 of which are oxymorons (& 1 which is neither).