What is irony?

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18 Comments

I came across this page after I watched that movie with the pedophile, Little Children, looking up psychosexual disorders. It made me think of the concept of irony and what it really is. Like, Alanis Morissette got it all wrong. None of that shit is "Ironic".

The question: is it normal I found this to be a perfect representation of what ironic is and now I'm not sure it doesn't just fall into the coincidence category?

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Based on 10 votes (6 yes)
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Comments ( 18 )
  • anti-hero
    10 years ago | pl

    George Carlin put it best...

    Irony deals with opposites; it has nothing to do with coincidence. If two baseball players from the same hometown, on different teams, receive the same uniform number, it is not ironic. It is a coincidence.

    If Barry Bonds attains lifetime statistics identical to his father’s it will not be ironic. It will be a coincidence. Irony is "a state of affairs that is the reverse of what was to be expected; a result opposite to and in mockery of the appropriate result."

    For instance: If a diabetic, on his way to buy insulin, is killed by a runaway truck, he is the victim of an accident. If the truck was delivering sugar, he is the victim of an oddly poetic coincidence. But if the truck was delivering insulin, ah! Then he is the victim of an irony.

    If a Kurd, after surviving bloody battle with Saddam Hussein’s army and a long, difficult escape through the mountains, is crushed and killed by a parachute drop of humanitarian aid, that, my friend, is irony writ large.

    Darryl Stingley, the pro football player, was paralyzed after a brutal hit by Jack Tatum. Now Darryl Stingley’s son plays football, and if the son should become paralyzed while playing, it will not be ironic. It will be coincidental. If Darryl Stingley’s son paralyzes someone else, that will be closer to ironic. If he paralyzes Jack Tatum’s son that will be precisely ironic.

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    • thegypsysailor
      10 years ago

      Well written and intelligent; thanks.

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      • anti-hero
        10 years ago

        I can't take credit.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      10 years ago

      Hah! Thanks. For that alone it was already worth making the story.

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    • RoseIsabella
      10 years ago

      Your grasp of irony is a beautiful thing!

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      • anti-hero
        10 years ago

        Again I can't take credit.

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  • dirtybirdy
    10 years ago

    I thought it had something to do with unwrinkling your clothes or a heavy metal patella...

    Shut up bird.

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    • [Old Memory]
      10 years ago

      Yep.

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  • jeebley
    10 years ago

    I think Counterfeit.Circus summed up situational irony perfectly. I don't think your example is ironic, OP. But I also don't fully get what irony is!!

    But it can also be used in verbal/written language. It's where the intended meaning of the words is different (usually opposite) to the literal meaning.
    So sarcasm is a form of irony.

    So I don't think mentioning www.isitironic.com on isitnormal.com is ironic, but there it is anyway...

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      10 years ago

      I love that it's a real website! I thought you just made it up for the sake of humor. Hehe. Thanks. I see, according to that definition it is not at all ironic since both pieces of information actually agree with each other. Got it, I think. Still, I think I'd like to see what the III community thinks.

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      • jeebley
        10 years ago

        Ha! I know! Hehe... We'll see what III says.

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  • orinoco
    10 years ago

    Just google "iron" and add a "y" (=why?)

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  • Riddler
    10 years ago

    Irony: when the intention of one thing creates the opposite effect than what was originally desired. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/what-is-irony-with-examples/
    Also here is a link.

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  • Pika-girl
    10 years ago

    My friends have their own language where they change "l" to "r", so in the language, my name sounds like "irony".

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  • handsignals
    10 years ago

    Rony!...they turned him into a humancentipad...he didn't read the terms and conditions...

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  • Tommythecat.
    10 years ago

    Google it fool.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      10 years ago

      I have and I still decided to share the image. Thanks for your very wise comment.

      Oh, and I'd love to know how I could have googled the irony or lack thereof in the fact that "the page has issues".

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      • Tommythecat.
        10 years ago

        You can google anything, it's magic.

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