more irony

[Jonathan Lighter]

Ironic or totally predictable?

You be the judge.

JL

On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 9:57 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: more irony
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Might it be an irony, perhaps by the anticipation of the news reader,
> if the U.S. has as much difficulty in Libya as it has had in Iraq?
>
> Joel
>
> At 3/22/2011 08:22 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >So by calling something an "irony" I can evoke the richness of
> >significance that it shares with all other occurrences
> >but which few mortals are equipped to see.
> >
> >JL
> >
> >On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 8:06 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu
> >wrote:
> >
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> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> > > Subject:      Re: more irony
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > At 7:47 PM -0400 3/22/11, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> > > >There's already been much discussion here about the current extreme
> > > dilution
> > > >of the terms "irony/ironic."
> > > >
> > > >Here's today's example, from CNN: "One of the many ironies" of the
> attack
> > > on
> > > >Libya is that "it began on exactly the same date as the invasion of
> Iraq"
> > > in
> > > >2003.
> > > >
> > > >I'm not sure what the other "ironies" are, but it should be easy to
> come
> > > up
> > > >with as many as you like.
> > > >
> > > >The coincidence of dates is diverting but no more than that. And it's
> of
> > > >absolutely no significance. But calling it an "irony" rather than a
> > > >"coincidence" sounds so much sager.
> > > >
> > > Now now.  Coincidences have no meaning.  Ironies, are on the other
> > > hand, are rich with significance.  Whatever they may be.
> > >
> > > LH
> > >
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"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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