# Life's Great Ironies #359 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 26, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420 "2003-11-26T17:45:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/1 "2003-11-26T17:45:54Z")
Well…what the hell can you do but laugh and shake your head at something like [this](http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4445602p-4431855c.html)? This ranks up there with the Klucker who fired the gun in the air, wounding one of his fellow assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/2 "2003-11-26T18:14:57Z")
Gee, he gave up smoking 35 years ago and was testifying against a rather idiotic law, and some people can find irony in it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/3 "2003-11-26T18:24:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Moto \* > \*\*Gee, he gave up smoking 35 years ago and was testifying against a rather idiotic law, and some people can find irony in it. \*\* So it’s not ironic that someone says he’s healthy as an ox and smoking hasn’t done him any harm and then he keels over from a heart attack? Get a grip. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/4 "2003-11-26T18:58:27Z")
As far as irony goes, saying you’re healthy and then subsequently dying works. The smoking is irrelevent, considering that he hasn’t smoked in decades. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/5 "2003-11-26T19:03:13Z")
I think it’s quite a perfect example of irony. When something happens that isn’t expected, that’s the definition of irony. As opposed to, say, rain on a wedding day… or a thousand spoons when all you need is a knife. ---
**Author:** ![Chicago\_Faucet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chicago_faucet/32/13910_2.png) [@Chicago\_Faucet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicago_Faucet)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/6 "2003-11-26T19:13:27Z")
Goddammit! Where did all of these spoons come from?! All I needed was a knife. ---
**Author:** ![Jonmarzie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jonmarzie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonmarzie)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/7 "2003-11-26T19:19:02Z")
Oh, **USCDiver** , I think the number is ten thousand spoons. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/8 "2003-11-26T19:24:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackknifed Juggernaut \* > \*\*As far as irony goes, saying you’re healthy and then subsequently dying works. The smoking is irrelevent, considering that he hasn’t smoked in decades. \*\* Except for the fact that he spends his mornings sitting at a table full of smokers, inhaling second-hand smoke, which is the point of the ordinance? You mean _that_ irrelevance? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/9 "2003-11-26T19:36:37Z")
What a story. Homer’s _Oddity_? ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/10 "2003-11-27T01:17:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chicago Faucet \* > \*\*Goddammit! Where did all of these spoons come from?! All I needed was a knife. \*\* There is no knife. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![DaisyFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@DaisyFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaisyFace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/11 "2003-11-27T03:27:18Z")
But what about this black fly in my Chardonnay? Oh yeah, I don’t drink Chardonnay. I much prefer Merlot. But I did quit smoking. And now, a toast to the memory of Bob Keys. May your years be long, your tears be short and your smokes be non-filtered! ---
**Author:** ![Chavardz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@Chavardz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chavardz)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifes-great-ironies-359/215420/12 "2003-11-27T03:44:50Z")
i·ro·ny ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-n, r-) n. pl. i·ro·nies The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning. A literary style employing such contrasts for humorous or rhetorical effect. See Synonyms at wit Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs: “Hyde noted the irony of Ireland’s copying the nation she most hated” (Richard Kain). An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity. * * * Also: [“Sweet Home Alabama” plays in background.] Garland Greene: Define irony: a bunch of idiots dancing around on a plane to a song made famous by a band that died in a plane crash.