MTA (More Trouble Ahead) nicknames

Fred Shapiro fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU
Wed Mar 30 16:28:58 UTC 2005


On Wed, 30 Mar 2005, Laurence Horn wrote:

> >>  fielding a powerhouse Division II football team.
> >              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> >Surely this is an oxymoron (FSVO "oxymoron")?
> >
> Are "large mouse", "small elephant", and similar relativized modifier
> constructions considered oxymoronic?

Certainly expressions like "powerhouse Division II football team" are
commonly used in sports.  Like "ace of the Colorado Rockies pitching
staff."

I should note, though, that "jumbo shrimp," which is similar to "large
mouse,"  is considered to be a classic oxymoron.

(I nominate "moderate Republican" as a new classic oxymoron.)

Fred Shapiro


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