"ironically" again

[David Bowie]

From:    Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>

> The defect is in the reporter's understanding of the standard meaning
> of the word "ironically."...

Somebody participating in meaning change is not a defect, it's a natural
linguistic change. "Ironically" is in the process of meaning change, and
the sentence under discussion reflects that.

<snip>

> There was NO suggestion IN THE REPORTER'S STORY of any kind of irony
> in the fact or manner of Irwin's death...

No suggestion of *classical* irony, sure. However, there most certainly
was a weird twist to the story. To rephrase what i wrote before in a
hopefully clearer manner, Steve Irwin had built a reputation on being
bulletproof around dangerous animals. A few days ago, we all discovered
that he wasn't bulletproof. Therefore, irony.

<snip>

Of course, myself, i *still* don't understand what's ironic about ten
thousand spoons when all you need is a knife, but these things happen.

--
David Bowie                                         http://pmpkn.net/lx
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.

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