further adventures of "ironic"

[George Thompson]

An article in today's NYTimes on street processions in the Williamsburgh area, honoring patron saints, specifically St. Cono, of Teggiano, Italy.  (section A, p. 16, column 1, for those of us still bound to print-on-paper)  This area of Williamsburgh was until recently largely inhabited by Italian Catholics, but it seems now has a considerable number of young residents not raised to the tradition.
One (Chris Tocco, 26, an actor) is quoted as saying: "It was a tiny parade, and they shut down Graham Avenue?  There was one float and a horrible marching band.  It was very ironic."
If Mr. Toco were to be asked to pick a replacement for the word "ironic" here, he might choose "having the the nature of irony or covert sarcasm; meaning the opposite of what is expressed"; he might choose "showing a condition of affairs or events of a character opposite to what was, or might naturally be, expected"; he might even choose "being marked by a slightly amusing trivial coincidence"; but I think he would choose "strange".

A 27 year old onlooker offered the insight "It's kind of like a vestige of the old neighborhoods of Brooklyn".  It is like that, indeed, kind of.

(First two defs. adapted from the OED)

GAT

George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

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