i'm just gonna leave this here: Alanis Morrisette

are you Alanis Morrisette or do you really not have a grasp of irony?

Hey Sarzy.

"Someone being wrong about something isn't automatically irony." No, that's not what I was saying at all! If the guy is perfectly aware that they won't be arresting anybody and yet still comes out with a crazy line like that, they are being ironic! It's all about intonation with verbal irony (hard to express in text). "All languages use pitch semantically, that is, as intonation, for instance for emphasis, to convey surprise or irony, or to pose a question."

Have look at linguistic usage disputes and cosmic irony.

"It's a death row pardon two minutes too late" is an example of the "irony" Alanis Morrisette used. It's confused with cosmic irony, but it's really 'the mere "coincidental or unexpected"'. It's a popular understanding of irony. "A lifeguard drowning" is the same thing. One doesn't expect a lifeguard to drown, but it isn't ironic because it doesn't "describes a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results." What if someone held a lifeguard underwater and they drowned? How would that be ironic in any way? Maybe you'd have more of an argument with some context, like the lifeguard went to save someone's life and ended up drowning (or near drowning) in the attempt while the victim escaped alive. Or as dannym3141 suggests, they kill the person they're trying to save.

Take a look at the bulletproof glass example on wikipedia. It's (situational) irony because bulletproof glass should stop bullets and normal glass shouldn't. If it were normal glass the bullet would go straight through and miss the president. Because it is bulletproof, it bounces off and hits the president. Situational irony. Compare that with your seatbelt example. Does anyone claim that a seatbelt would save your life in an incident that occurs underwater? I doubt even the wildest marketer would claim such a thing. It's not irony because seatbelts should assist in a collision with another vehicle, an impact collision, where the impact would normally kill/heavily injure you. Water isn't going to do that. A response of "but seatbelts should save your life!" ain't going to cut it.

My example of "pleasant day" when it's raining is an example of verbal irony (i.e. "a disparity of expression and intention: when a speaker says one thing but means another, or when a literal meaning is contrary to its intended effect."). You don't need to try to belittle it (or me) with "lesser-used" and "if it's irony at all." I'm not trying to attack you or bring you down.

Having read the situational irony as described in wikipedia, I think the video title is correct. It is ironic. The expected result is one or more terrorists being arrested; the actual result is that they're all COPs (of a form). My example ("four arrests in one!") is a verbal irony statement because clearly you can't arrest any of the people.

I must admit, I don't really like situational irony, it can be so easily confused with coincidence and unexpected situations, and so one ends up with endless discussions about irony (such as this one). If only we could only ditch it and go back to dramatic and verbal irony I'd be a lot happier. Nevertheless, the examples on wikipedia are pretty good. It needs to be read closely, so the expected/actual dilemma can be uncovered.

On re-reading your initial comment, your cancer drug example is a good example of situational irony. The lifeguard and seatbelt ones, one the other hand, would need a lot more context before they could become ironic.

>> ^Sarzy:

>> ^ledpup:
Well, this may be a trap, but Sarzy, none of your examples are ironic. They're all Alanis Morissette irony. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony. E.g. The image of a person holding a sign that says "I can't afford an actual sign" is a perfectly good example of irony. All your examples are just things that happen. Irony is all about truth and the assertion of it by proposing its negation. Eg Saying "Gee, what a pleasant day we're having" when there is a hurricane outside that is ripping off the roofs of houses. That's ironic.
Irony has to be the most misunderstood of all English words.

No, my examples are all correctly ironic -- going by the information on the wikipedia page you linked to, they are situational irony, which is almost always what people are referring to when they call something ironic (whether they're using the term correctly or not). Your hurricane example, if it's irony at all (which is debatable), would be dramatic irony, which is definitely a lesser-used variety of the term.



And I really don't see how your example would make this video ironic. Someone being wrong about something isn't automatically irony.

The last century called. They want their favorite Alanis Morrisette joke back.

>> ^Payback:
Now, for those such as Alanis Morrisette who are confused with what, in fact, is irony? This video is ironic. Not a traffic jam when you're already late, or a no smoking sign on your cigarette break. However, those examples can be easily made ironic. A traffic jam, when you're already late for your interview to become the new traffic planner for the city. A no smoking sign on your cigarette break from your job at a cigarette packaging factory.


Is it possible to upvote a comment more than once? Must learn to hack website.

I've come up with a perfect, two word example of irony: lifeguard drowns. So yeah, I feel your pain.

Now, for those such as Alanis Morrisette who are confused with what, in fact, is irony? This video is ironic. Not a traffic jam when you're already late, or a no smoking sign on your cigarette break. However, those examples can be easily made ironic. A traffic jam, when you're already late for your interview to become the new traffic planner for the city. A no smoking sign on your cigarette break from your job at a cigarette packaging factory.

I am same position as djsunkid:

Tatchedogbe - Angelique Kidjo
Cyberia - afro celts
bull in the heather - breeders
the day after - flash
if you want my love - depeche mode
9:45 - PM dawn
Solitude - Billie Holiday
Western Eyes - Portishead
his wife refused - talking heads
the poison mouth - skinny puppy
all star - smash mouth
doin the shout - john lee hooker
its only love - Nick cave, scott walker
let go - frou frou
sweet dreams - eurythmics
Jackie's strength (remix #1) - tori amos
cop - swans
21 things - alanis morrisette
antenna kraftwerk
kalimba - EWF
stand back up - sugarland

Ouch. That was a low blow.

>> ^Payback:
>> ^thinker247:
Is sarcasm lost on all of you?
>> ^thinker247:
I hope he was schooled in a religious madrasa, and I hope he is a crazy Muslim. If so, we know he can get something done. Hell, maybe he can solve the economy crisis with a box-cutter and an expired student visa.


You seem to have learned sarcasm at the same school Alanis Morrisette learned about irony.

>> ^thinker247:
Is sarcasm lost on all of you?
>> ^thinker247:
I hope he was schooled in a religious madrasa, and I hope he is a crazy Muslim. If so, we know he can get something done. Hell, maybe he can solve the economy crisis with a box-cutter and an expired student visa.



You seem to have learned sarcasm at the same school Alanis Morrisette learned about irony.

OK, so let's pursue this.

What is it about the film "Office Space" that makes it suitable to be played/listened to in the workplace? More suitable than other films, that is?

The answer is nothing aside from the title, which, coincidentally, is about working in an office. Hilarious flick too!

The element that is attempting to inject irony is the NSFW tag. Therefore, there should be something about the main subject that makes it inherently suitable for work.

If the film were called "Suitable for Work," then you'd have some irony cooking.

Irony gets false credit for serendipity, coincidence, tragedy, etc...probably more than any other literary device, especially since Alanis Morrisette's "Irony for Dummies" became a hit.

Remember when Steve Irwin was killed? People up and down the internet were calling his death ironic. Steve Irwin defied death in every segment of every show he hosted. I'm amazed he lasted as long as he did. No, an ironic Steve Irwin death would have been in an old age home.

The perfect definition of irony in two words: lifeguard drowns.

Irony has an inequality-of-expectations thing going on that's very difficult to come by naturally. That's what makes irony so special.

Sorry if I've come across as condescending. It's not my intent. This is just one of my pet peeves.

I had a crush on Moose, myself.
The kid lucky is thinking of is Alasdair - he was the one who had the thing for Alanis...who grew up to be Alanis Morrisette. Really.