"ironically" again

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 9/4/06, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
> At 6:41 AM -0700 9/4/06, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >In describing the shocking death of Steve Irwin on Fox News this
> >morning, an Australian journalist explained that he was killed by
> >the poisonous barb of a stingray. She continued immediately:
> >
> >   "Ironically, he was filming a documentary on the ocean's deadliest
> >creatures."
> >
> >   In context, this sentence needs no introductory modifier.  If one
> >is desired, "indeed" or "as a matter of  fact" would be appropriate.
> >In other words, virtually the opposite of "ironically."
>
> Hmmm. I see the point, but for me, "indeed" or "as a matter of fact"
> seem even less plausible here, seeming to suggest that Irwin's
> filming the documentary was a demonstration of the point illustrated
> by his getting fatally stung.  The only way this would work for me is
> if another sentence intervened before the "indeed", e.g. [after
> announcing the death] "Stingrays are known to be among the ocean's
> deadliest creatures.  Indeed, at the time of his sudden death, Irwin
> was filming a documentary..."

Some have found irony in the fact that Irwin was killed by animal that
is actually *not* so deadly, despite the documentary's title...

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http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyid=2006-09-04T090553Z_01_SYD56835_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&src=090406_1248_FEATURES_death_of_a_crocodile_hunter
Wildlife experts said it was ironic that Irwin was killed by a marine
creature not regarded as aggressive.
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http://www.laist.com/archives/2006/09/04/crikey_stingray_kills_crocodile_hunter_steve_irwin.php
Ironically he was filming a documentary about stingrays on the Great
Barrier Reef in order to dispel myths about the frightening sea
creatures.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/australia/story/0,,1864565,00.html
In a bitter irony, the man who risked his life handling one of the
world's most dangerous reptiles was mortally wounded by a stingray, a
usually passive sea creature which attacks only if threatened.
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http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1051064
The irony of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's death is that he was not
killed by one of the deadly creatures he regularly handled, but by a
relatively peaceful fish, scientists said on Monday.
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--Ben Zimmer

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