Friday, September 14, 2007

Don't You Think?

It's not ironic that the guy you just met grew up on the same street where your aunt lives, or that a coach lost his last game to a team he used to work with, or that there's a black fly in your chardonnay. But this is ironic.

8 comments:

Stephen Phillips said...

And the Fire Marshall's name is Burns. Ironic? Or just amusing to those of us who haven't much to do these days ...

Brian Cubbison said...

Socratic irony: A black fly in your hemlock.

What's ironic is that by not knowing what irony means, she taught a generation what irony means.

Brian Cubbison

Lee Seelig said...

The tradition (and dictionary definition) of "situational ironay" or "dramatic irony" is well established. Here is Merriam-Webster's third definition of "irony":
3 a (1): incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result (2): an event or result marked by such incongruity b: incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play —called also dramatic irony tragic irony

. said...

Fire Marshall? The "irony" is the editor can't tell the difference between a discount dress store and a common civic and military title.

Stephen Phillips said...

I totally didn't catch that! The copy editor in me has failed.

Girl with the Interesting Hair said...

would this count as ironic?
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6950045

R. Bowen said...

I once wrote a story about an emergency dispatcher's house burning down (she actually took the call).

Samuel said...

This week I've made a point to figure out what irony is and be able to explain it to others. I haven't yet checked Bill's books, but is there a source somewhere online that people have found to be helpful?