# I pit irony **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 14, 2008, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129 "2008-12-14T17:13:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/21 "2008-12-14T19:39:16Z")
And here is sarcasm, which is different from irony: “Can you speak up a bit. I think there are some people in the neighbouring town who didn’t quite hear you” ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/22 "2008-12-14T19:44:20Z")
Why does irony have to have such a specific definition? Because, well, that’s what it means, silly. I always use _Ozymandias_ by Shelley as a great example of irony: > [@](#): > > I met a traveller from an antique land > Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone > Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand, > Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, > And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, > Tell that its sculptor well those passions read > Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, > The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed: > And on the pedestal these words appear: > ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: > Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ > Nothing beside remains. Round the decay > Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare > The lone and level sands stretch far away.” “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” This is the sort of unintended poignancy that is described by the term “irony.” If that’s not what you mean, you need to find a different word–no sense complaining about the usage police quite correctly pointing out the misuse of the word. Words mean what they mean, not what we want them to, and all that… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/23 "2008-12-14T20:12:00Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Words mean what they mean, not what we want them to, and all that… Okay, I’ll make sure to literally consult you before I ever use a word: apparently common usage and a dictionary are no longer enough. Or maybe I could care less. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/24 "2008-12-14T20:24:06Z")
> [@jali](#): > > There’s another short story - the lady borrows diamonds, loses them, then works the rest of her life to replace them only to learn that the diamonds were actually paste. Oh, that’s Guy de Maupassant’s the “Necklace.” ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/25 "2008-12-14T20:47:25Z")
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 he died in a car crash on the way to the airport Now that would be ironic, don’tcha think. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/26 "2008-12-15T01:15:13Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Oh, that’s Guy de Maupassant’s the “Necklace.” Thanks! I couldn’t remember de Maupassant to save my skin. Great story that’s stayed with me for over about 40 years. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/27 "2008-12-15T01:22:12Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > 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 he died in a car crash on the way to the airport > Now that would be ironic, > don’tcha think. Eh, I think it’d be even more ironic if a plane crashed into his car. ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/28 "2008-12-15T05:13:30Z")
The thing about that song is that it’s supposed to be about irony yet lists things that aren’t ironic - isn’t that in itself ironic? Woah, that’s deep. I’m reminded of this MC I saw freestyling for 60 seconds about his allocated word - ambiguous. He’s saying stuff like, “What kind of word is that? I don’t know what this shit is. Ambiguous?” I thought - hah, what a moron, he doesn’t even know what the word means. But then I realised it was unclear whether he was talking about not knowing what the word means, or not knowing what something else is because it is ambiguous. In other words, his entire performance was ambiguous. Which just goes to show that the line between genius and stupidity is far thinner than I ever realised. Ironic, no? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/29 "2008-12-15T05:46:58Z")
> [@AllWalker](#): > > Which just goes to show that the line between genius and stupidity is far thinner than I ever realised. Ironic, no? No. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/30 "2008-12-15T05:59:37Z")
It’s like turning 98, winning the lotto-and then dying the next day. Doncha think? 😉 BTW, did anyone see _Christmas Eve on Sesame Street_ as a child, or with your kids? Bert and Ernie end up doing the whole “Gift of the Magi,” only with Rubber Ducky and Bert’s paper clip collection. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/31 "2008-12-15T06:16:32Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Irony: full of iron. You mean like this t-shirt? [http://site.despair.com/despairwear/ironic/?sort=bestseller](http://site.despair.com/despairwear/ironic/?sort=bestseller) I have one of these. Everyone loves it. ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/32 "2008-12-15T19:51:13Z")
ETA: Nevermind. +1 to what \*\*Allwalker \*\*said. I think Alanis whooshed us all; or at least that’s the story she should go with. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/33 "2008-12-15T19:55:51Z")
Lemony - full of lemon. Go on, argue your way out of that one! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/34 "2008-12-15T21:05:42Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > You mean like this t-shirt? [http://site.despair.com/despairwear/ironic/?sort=bestseller](http://site.despair.com/despairwear/ironic/?sort=bestseller) > > I have one of these. Everyone loves it. Oh man I so want one. I was actually ripping off King of Queens when Aurthur got in that argument about how he thought ironic meant it was full of iron. > [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Lemony - full of lemon. > > Go on, argue your way out of that one! Well can you name anything that’s full of lemon that isn’t lemony? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/35 "2008-12-15T21:48:58Z")
[US anti-kidnapping expert kidnapped in Mexico](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081215/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_american_kidnapped_2) ---
**Author:** ![AllWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/db5fbb/32.png) [@AllWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllWalker)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/36 "2008-12-16T03:18:19Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > No. That’s what I said, no. I was being ambiguous. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/37 "2008-12-19T11:50:52Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Okay, I’ll make sure to literally consult you before I ever use a word: apparently common usage and a dictionary are no longer enough. Feel free to consult me on all matters where you’re confused. I’m happy to share my wisdom. And common misuse does not render something proper. > [@](#): > > Or maybe I could care less. Then why did you post? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/38 "2008-12-19T17:22:17Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > [QUOTE=Ludovic] > Or maybe I could care less. Then why did you post? [/QUOTE] Obviously, because he could care less. Which means he must care a lot, or at least some, otherwise he would have said he couldn’t care less. Except that “could(n’t) care less” is a commonly given example of the way idioms and words both change over time to assume new meanings, sometimes the opposite of their original meaning. It’s not irony, it’s language drift. See also: ambivalent. In other words, you got whooshed, my friend. Or I just did; one can never be quite sure where whooshes are concerned. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/39 "2008-12-19T18:44:38Z")
I can’t, um, really define irony, but I know when I see it! Lelaina: I mean, these job interviews, Troy… The word “vivesection” a staggering understatement. I mean, can you define irony? Troy: It’s when the actual meaning is the complete opposite from the literal meaning. Lelaina: My God, where were you when I needed you today? /Reality Bites So yeah, The Gift of the Magi is not ironic. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129/40 "2008-12-19T18:55:02Z")
A few years ago, some British doper started a thread asking why Americans don’t understand irony. His example of Americans’ incorrect use of the word? That Alanis Morrisette song. _That_ was ironic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-irony/477129.md?page=3)