Talk:irony

Pronouciation -- The character after "air" does not appear in the IPA symbols when you drill down. This is a word that everyone says I mispronounce often ...

great illustration =]--194.109.234.123 22:57, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

While amusing, the "Dead end" image does not appear to be an example of irony, but rather "irony" misused.

Irony is one of the most contested topics among random people. It's incredibly hard to define and so it should be judged loosely. If you can give clear reasons as to why the picture is not ironic, that is fine, but otherwise you are simply nit-picking for the sake of questionable accuracy. 75.80.61.43 07:01, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Irony is a situation or a choice of words in which the truth is the opposite of what you expect. Given this definition, you would, on some level, expect a grave yard to be a literal dead end (of life, of course). Being that a dead end and a grave yard have a semantic similarity, seeing both at the same time are co-incidents. Thus, the placement of that sign is coincidental, and not ironic.

Using the standard definition of "incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result", the phrase "dead end" would, normally, lead you to expect a result of death. Thus, there is some congruity there. That sign would have been ironic if it had been seen at the entrance to a maternity ward; a "birth" end. --MonkeyPundit 19:04, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

Dead End Sign an erroneous example of irony
Isn't a dead end sign at a graveyard more of a coincidence than an irony? It would be more ironic to have a "dead end" sign at a maternity ward, or to have a statue of a baby-carrying stork in a graveyard.

I have replaced this entry's photograph with a cartoon that more accurately illustrates irony. --MonkeyPundit 19:08, 8 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I don't get it. DCDuring TALK 12:50, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Irony: a situation or an illustrative choice of words in which reality contradicts expectations.

Situation: two kids try to blow a tree up using a bomb

Expectation: the kids expect that their bomb will blow the tree up

Contradictory reality: the kids' bomb blows them up instead --MonkeyPundit 13:19, 5 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Neither of these are ironic. A reasonable person wouldn't be surprised if the kids blew themselves up. You could see it coming. Irony isn't just a simple opposite. I can't think of an example myself involving trees and explosives, someone else can add a decent and obvious example.


 * Also the "Dead End" sign is not ironic. At best, it's a pun, a real-life pun rather than a literary one. Or an amusing coincidence. Irony needs a kink in it, usually, a 180 degree twist. A good few Twilight Zone episodes had some heavy irony, but not all of them. "Poetic justice" is a similar concept to find examples from.


 * 92.40.254.224 19:39, 19 December 2012 (UTC)

Ironic mustache?
Is there room in this entry for another definition? It's pretty widespread usage, I think, to refer to someone who has grown a mustache "ironically" or drinks shitty beer "ironically". I take it to mean that they've grown the mustache as a joke, because it's ugly. It's sort of a metaphorical application of definition 1 in this entry. It's like they've grown a mustache, but they don't really "mean" it. If you know the context, you'd know they'd done it as a joke.

Like I said, it's a pretty widespread usage, and doesn't exactly fit any of the definitions already in the entry. Torgo 02:18, 20 October 2011 (UTC)
 * I think it's just the existing definition applied to fashion. A particular style of mustache might look ugly and one might expect that the bearer possesses little sophistication, but in reality the opposite it true. The bearer possesses at least enough sophistication to wear the mustache as a joke. Although, some might argue that this example actually indicates a case of double irony. L3lackEyedAngels 18:02, 21 October 2011 (UTC)
 * But growing a mustache isn't a "statement" or "use of words", as it's put in definition 1. It certainly isn't covered under definitions 2, 3, or 4. It's closest to definition 1, but it's not the same thing. Torgo 22:14, 27 October 2011 (UTC)
 * A fashion statement is a type of statement. Therefore the first definition applies. I included fashion statement to the derived terms for statement, in case it helps. L3lackEyedAngels 18:55, 29 December 2011 (UTC)

"The state of two usually unrelated entities, parties, actions, etc. being related through a common connection in an uncommon way."
I've added this as a definition, as it seems to be one of the best fits for comedic irony I've come across. As an example:

You're run over by an ambulance, this is obviously ironic. The two entities (you and the ambulance) are related through a common connection (your health or the ambulances effect on health) in an uncommon way. (in that it's just run you over, rather than be there to take you to hospital)

Make this a common connection in an common way, and you're being taken to hospital by the ambulance because you're sick. This isn't ironic, it's exactly what's expected.

Remove the common connection altogether (possibly replacing with an uncommon connection), and you're next to the ambulance because you're buying ice-cream from the medics. This obviously isn't ironic, it's just weird. HaniiPuppy (talk) 00:07, 16 September 2015 (UTC)