Are irony & sarcasm similar?

Jun 04, 2008 14:35

The Science of Sarcasm (Not That You Care) was sent to me because I've been diagnosed with frontal brain atrophe. When I was being forced to go to the hospital recently, I yelled out "I'm going to write a book!" in my poor attempt to keep from going. I thought I'd write about all the irony there. A hospital is no place for sick people. I wonder if ( Read more... )

sarcasm, humor, irony

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tcpip June 5 2008, 00:34:55 UTC
Caveat: I have been called an irony snob in the past. :-)

My understanding of the three related terms, satire, sarcasm, and irony is the following:

Satire: Stating a ridiculous dissimilarity which is self-evident. For example, it is a common Australian saying to call people with red hair "bluey".

Sarcasm: Expressing agreement with a risible proposition. Often comes with a tonal cue (the weather example in the article was a good one).

Irony: The unfolding of the opposite of an actor's intent by their own workings. Should also be related to tragedy. The invasion of Iraq certainly qualifies.

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uu_mom June 5 2008, 15:58:09 UTC
Thanks for the explanation. Sorry my post went to the community twice & "atrophy" is misspelled on both. The irony for me is that I, the co-moderator of this forum, may lose my ability to understand sarcasm - I guess that's tragedy. You're an "irony snob" because people use the word the wrong way & you like to point it out? I think I used it correctly with the hospital, but some of the things are just coincidental or satirical - I don't really know the difference & not sure I care.

I'm also a "bluey" - I never heard of that before and I didn't understand satire that way. I thought satire was usually referring to a story or play, not a single word.

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tcpip June 6 2008, 00:08:15 UTC
People are allowed to misspell to their keyboard's intent online :-)

Glad you enjoyed my comments, I certainly liked what you posted!

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