Irony/Paradox/oxymorons

Forums: English, Vocabulary, Irony, Oxymoron, Paradox
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What is the difference between irony, paradoxes and oxymorons?

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Type: Discussion • Score: 5 • Views: 19,293 • Replies: 27

[+4] - izzythepush - 05/11/2011An oxymoron is the juxtaposition of two words that mean the opposite. 'A deafening silence.' A good example of a paradox is probably best described in the Pirates of Penzance. Our hero is...
[+3] - chai2 - 05/11/2011Humorous examples (what I'm best at) Oxymoron - from George Carlin "Jumbo shrimp", "Plastic glass" Paradox - from Yogi Berra "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too...
[+3] - roger - 05/11/2011Yes, well a crowd without a leader is a mob. A mob with a leader is a government. That bit of wisdom comes from Harry Belafonte.

@Jaqueline,

You first. Have you looked up the meanings in a dictionary? What do you think the differences are?

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@Butrflynet,

Irony: the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

Paradox: a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory

Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

I understand oxymorons the most, but I am still confused about how the usage differs!

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@Jaqueline,

An oxymoron is the juxtaposition of two words that mean the opposite. 'A deafening silence.'

A good example of a paradox is probably best described in the Pirates of Penzance. Our hero is commissioned until his 21st bithday to be a pirate. However he was born on the 29th February, so when he is 21 he has still only had 5 birthdays.

Irony is when you say something but mean the opposite. I'm English we do it all the time.

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Here's another example of a paradox, 'If you want peace you must prepare for war.'

When Jeeves the butler says to his master 'Very good Sir,' he is using irony, he means the opposite but Bertie Wooster is too stupid to see it.

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@izzythepush,

Ok that makes sense, thanks a lot Izzy!

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@Jaqueline,

Hey Jaqueline,

I've been reading some of your other posts and think you'll make a great addition to the forums here. Welcome aboard. Hope you'll stick around.

Be sure to bookmark the site so you'll be able to find us again when you wish to return.

If you need help with learning how to navigate around the site and setting up your preferences, here's a slightly out of date tutorial that might be useful for you.

How to Set Preferences, Navigate, Format Posts, Sort Topics on A2K

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Humorous examples (what I'm best at)

Oxymoron - from George Carlin "Jumbo shrimp", "Plastic glass"

Paradox - from Yogi Berra "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded.", "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

Irony - Harry S. Truman "Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it."

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@chai2,

Nothing beats 'Military Intelligence' when it comes to oxymorons.

Examples:

Naval Intellilgence - Nearly Oxymoronic
Air Force Intelligence - Drop the 'Nearly'
Army Intellligence - Drop the 'Oxy'
Marine Corps Intelligence - Oh, never mind.

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@roger,

What about Sun Reader?

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@izzythepush,

Sorry, I don't recognize the reference.

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@roger,

Sun readers are sun glasses, but that are also OTC reading glasses.

Yeah, that does sound strange.

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@roger,

Sorry, the Sun is a trashy newspaper in the UK, the inference is they're not reading the paper they're looking at the tits on page 3. The paper has a reading age of 7.

Here's a bit old paradoxical country lore on how to tell crows from rooks.

If you see a lot of crows, they're rooks.
If you see a rook on its own, it's a crow.

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@izzythepush,

Yes, well a crowd without a leader is a mob. A mob with a leader is a government.

That bit of wisdom comes from Harry Belafonte.

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@Jaqueline,

Irony paradoxically questions the answer.

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@Butrflynet,

Thanks! I do intend to stick around, and I love helping people in whatever way I can, so it seems like a very good place to do that! And I'm only a freshmen so I have lots of time to get to know the site and the people!

Many thanks again, Smile

See you around!

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@izzythepush,

Haha! Thanks everyone, I think you'll have done a much better job at providing good examples than all of my English teachers combined Smile

Thanks much,

~ Jaqueline

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Irony is when someone has neat creases in their trousers and wants to show off to everyone.

Paradox kills all known germs, and is normally used in the toilet.

Oxymoron is a male cow of low intelligence.

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@Old Goat,

Did you used to read the beano?

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@izzythepush,

American think that irony is sort of like coppery, except it sticks to magnets, and is less good at conducting electricity.

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Irony/Paradox/oxymorons

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