I have to admit, it bugs me when “ironically” is used in place of “coincidentally”.
To make it more confusing, “irony” has a very precise definition in literature, but it has a very squishy, inexact usage in the common parlance.
From a definition of literary terms:
Irony: the discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, what is said and what is done, what is expected or intended and what happens, what is meant or said and what others understand.
Sometimes irony is classified into types:
in situational irony, expectations aroused by a situation are reversed;
in cosmic irony or the irony of fate, misfortune is the result of fate, chance, or God;
in dramatic irony, the audience knows more than the characters in the play, so that words and action have additional meaning for the audience;
Socractic irony is named after Socrates’ teaching method, whereby he assumes ignorance and openness to opposing points of view which turn out to be (he shows them to be) foolish.
Irony is often confused with sarcasm and satire:
*Sarcasm *is one kind of irony; it is praise which is really an insult; sarcasm generally invovles malice, the desire to put someone down, e.g., “This is my brilliant son, who failed out of college.”
*Satire *is the exposure of the vices or follies of an indiviudal, a group, an institution, an idea, a society, etc., usually with a view to correcting it. Satirists frequently use irony.
Which actually *is *ironic.
As is usual for me on a Wednesday, yesterday I left work a little early and got on a bus. I was looking forward to a good meal at one of my favorite places. But the bus was really crowded, and traffic was heavy, so I ended up arriving about 25 minutes late.
There was no way I could hit an ATM, eat dinner, get on my next bus (which takes a minimum of 45 minutes), and get to my class on time.
I ended up grabbing something fast and cheap to eat, rushed through it, and (literally) ran for my bus. No doubt about it, I was going to be late for class.
But some strange miracle, traffic had thinned out to almost nothing. My 45 minute ride took only 15 minutes, leaving me with a half hour to kill in complete boredom.
Is that ironic?
No, that is just the universe fucking with you. It is the universe, that is what it does.
I find myself disagreeing with the dictionary definitions. In my personal book, sarcasm is not necessary irony. Sarcasm is counter-factual, but not necessarily demeaning, hostile, insulting. In other words, I agree with the OP.
I’m not quite following you, here: irony isn’t necessarily hostile, demeaning, or insulting. So if sarcasm is also sometimes none of those things, how does that show that sarcasm isn’t always a subset of irony? Could you give an example of sarcasm that you feel is non-ironic?
Just like the OP says.
“Lovely day for a stroll” is sarcastic, but not ironic. At least the way I would use the terms.
Well, how do you define the term? What definition of irony do you use that would exclude that sentence?
Would hypocrisy be considered ironic? Like Rep. Mark Foley in charge of protecting children while at the same time trying to find children to do naughty things with?
I don’t include plain sarcasm within “verbal irony.” Perhaps my own definition of irony excludes so-called “verbal irony” altogether. There must be more to the situation than a simple counter-factual statement in order for there to be irony. There must be an underlying situational irony or something.
Here’s your answer, right in your OP. British English is very different from American English. Surprised you’re unaware of this fact.
George Carlin defined “irony” as “something having the opposite effect of what was intended.” Like if a guy in an improvised country dies from being hit with a parachuted aid package.
I eat celery because I’m hungry and need calories, so because it takes more calories to eat celery than it provides*, that’s ironic is it? Surely nonsense.
- if that isn’t true than I understand if you want to point it out but hopefully I’ve got my point across.
No, it’s not. It’s irony.
**Sarcasm, by definition, is insulting. ** You are being sarcastic when you are trying to hurt someone’s feelings, insult them, or express contempt for them.
In the cited example case the speaker isn’t insulting anyone. It’s not sarcasm.
This guy…
Decries the lack of irony, seems to think she’s just a “whingin’ bint”:
double post.
I’d agree that The Gift of the Magi is a perfect example of irony. Irony is a broader category than sarcasm, as it need not be based on cruelty, but it does involve coming up short due to a flaw.
I had no idea how many different ways that word is used.
We need more words.