Saying one thing but meaning the opposite

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

Or sarcasm? Btw, what about humorously calling a tall, powerful man "Tiny"?

Gerald Cohen

> ----------
> From:         American Dialect Society on behalf of Jesse Sheidlower
> Reply To:     American Dialect Society
> Sent:         Wednesday, November 07120820082008 11:15
> To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject:           Re: Saying one thing but meaning the opposite
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jesse Sheidlower <jester at PANIX.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Saying one thing but meaning the opposite
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 12:00:07PM -0500, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> > When someone says "my good friends" but means the opposite, what is this figure of speech called?
>
> I know you're expecting an exotic Graecism, but I'm pretty sure that the usual rhetorical term for this is just "irony".
>
> Jesse Sheidlower
> OED
>
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