Search results for 'tag:Synonyms tag:Irony' matching tags 'Synonyms' and 'Irony'

Re: Some questions about the word "Ironic" or "Irony"

Marius Hancu — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 00:05:25 GMT

A situation isn't generally ironic, a person could be.

Only something using meaning 3 here could make a situation/state "ironic, in the way/fact that it happened":

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ironic

adj.

   1. Characterized by or constituting irony.
   2. Given to the use of irony. See synonyms at sarcastic.
   3. Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended: madness, an ironic fate for such a clear thinker.

http://www.answers.com/ironic
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In that (meaning 3 above) the happenings in your sentences could be seen by some as ironic.

However, I do not think they are. They are unexpected, surprising or coincidental, OK, but to say that it is ironic that they happened, a note of absurd is required, in order to generate the sarcasm (as in the example at 3 above).

Even more, other dictionaries don't even support the interpretation at 3 in the above, and insist on the sarcasm, which is the original meaning:

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ironÂ·ic

1 : of or relating to irony : containing, expressing, or constituting irony <an ironic remark> <it was ironic that he should enter then>

2 : addicted to the use of irony : given to irony <a very ironic man>

3 obsolete : DISSEMBLING, PRETENDED

synonym see SARCASTIC

http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com
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Re: Some phrases from Lemony Snicket's movie

Clive — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 01:07:19 GMT

Hi,

Don't worry, it's no trouble for me.

1. Doctor Steffano (Count Olaf) talks with Doctor Montgomery about his experience as a (fictitious) scientist:

Well, I am a fan, if I may gush. Your work has profoundly influenced my research up at the Monterey Bay Aquarium... on the sea snake. It's a very volatile animal. I've been bitten 43... 700 times. Mostly on the face.

What does volatile mean here? I've translated it as "unpredictable". Am I right? Yes. Unstable, lively.

2. When running into one of the orphans in the market Count Olaf blurts out "Lord thundering jumped-up Jehovah". The orphans' guardian (their aunt) screams
"The black plague! Is it the black plague?"
a). I understand that this is some sort of Eastern Canadian talk... Really? I didn't know there was an Eastern canadian aspect to this movie, I assumed it was standard USA fare. Good. but as I have to translate it into my native language, I should have some idea... What does "thundering" and "jumped-up" mean here? Is there any similar synonyms? 'Thundering' is perhaps a unique intensifier. I associate it with Newfoundlanders. A well-known Newfoundland expresssion, instead of 'Jesus!' is 'Lord thundering (t'underin') Jesus ('Jeezus'). 'Thundering' can mean not only 'loud' but 'excessive or huge', as in 'a thundering error'. 'Jumped-up' refers to someone who is newly in a position of importance/authority, and believes themselves to be important. There's a certain amusing irony in using these adjectives for Jehovah.

b). Why the black plague? What is so funny about it? And what does it have in common with Lord Jehovah? I don't think the Black Plague has anything to do with Jehovah. Jehovah's name is just invoked to show surprise at meeting the orphans. It's like exclaiming 'MyGod' in surprise.

I don't have enough context to understand why the Black Plague is mentioned here. Perhaps Olaf shows so much surprise that the guardian thinks something improtant, like the Plague, is happening?

3. Trying to warm his way into the confidence of the orphans' new guardian (their aunt that is a grammar freak), Count Olaf says:

Count Olaf: Why, perhaps it's just the ramblings of an expert fisherman, but grammar is the number-one most important thing in this here world to me. (A man after my own heart!)

Aunt: It is?

Count Olaf: It's the whole ball of wax. The entire kit and caboodle. Why, without your good grammar, the whole darn shooting match could go a.r.s.e. over tea kettle.

Olaf is ironically using bad grammar and unspohisticated vocabulary here. 'Darn' means 'damned'. 'The whole shootingmatch' means 'everything'. '***' means 'ass'. To go 'Ass over tea kettle' means 'to fall badly, completely', 'to collapse', as you say.

Aunt: Well, you can certainly turn a phrase.

Count Olaf: I can flip it up and rub it down too. Of course, that would be entirely up to you, mum. These phrases are exaggerated synonyms for 'turn', which was used in 'turn a phrase'. Olaf is, ironically, turning wild and clever phrases.

a) Well, what is he referring to with the whole darn shooting match? Go *** over tea kettle is to collapse?

b) turn a phrase is say smth in a clever, etc. way. But flip it up and rub it down? What does he mean?

4. Horrid Harbor. Horrid means here horrible, terrible, etc ,right? Yes

Curdled Cave. What exactly does curdled means here? Some synonym? 'Curdle' means as in your dictionary. I think the word is used here only because of the alliteration with 'cave'. There is also humour in that it is a strange word to juxtapose with 'cave', it's unexpected.

I have two thoughts. One is that you have listened to the dialogue in this move with a very good and accurate ear. The other is that it sounds like a great movie, with a lot of very clever verbal play. I want to see it!

Write again if you have any more queries, OK?

Clive

Some synonyms for you

jonathan1980tr — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 07:36:12 GMT

Synonyms

Annihilate: demolished

Exodus: Flight

Reprimand: reproved

Stagnant: fetid

Servitude: captivity

Slapdash: sloppy

Accomplice: confederate

Succumb: expire

Catalyst: stimulus

Prattle: chattered

Paramount: foremost

Hamper: impede

Ghastly: Gruesome

Defray: pay for

Bondage: captivity

Intricate: complex

Posthumous: postmortem

Lucid: clear

Tenacious: dogged

Doleful: melancholy

Taunt: insulting remarks

Opaque: cloudy

Efface: obliterated

Brigand: bandits

Deadlock: stalemate

Salvage: rescue

Spasmodic: fitful

Dilemma: predicament

Perennial: recurring

Muddle: mess

Breach: violation

Debris: wreckage

Alien: unfamiliar

Compensate: reimburse

Expulsion: ouster

Fodder: feed

Illegible: indecipherable

Adjourn: suspend

Lucrative: gainful

Proliferate: multiply

Sully: taints

Tantalize: tempted

Unflinching: unwavering

Marauder: freebooter

Pauper: destitute person

Pilfer: filched

Condone: turn a blind eye to

Irate: enraged

Usurp: commandeered

Cherubic: angelic

Fabricate: make up

Rift: split

Surmounted: conquered

Absconded: made off

Access: admittance

Larceny: burglary

Hoodwinked: duped

Reprievment: postponement

Rectify: correct

Precipice: cliff

Antonyms:

Circumspect: reckless

Spurious: valid

Opinionated: open-minded

Relinquish: retained

Admonish: praised

Comely: plain

Fortify: undermined

Terse: verbose

Dissolute: virtuous

Mediocre: exceptional

Obscure: eminent

Dissent: harmony

Obesity: emaciation

Terminate: initiated

Trite: fresh

Pompous: unaffected

Arduous: easy

Inanimate: lively

Auspicious: ominous

Morose: cheerful

Rebut: corroborate

Latent: manifest

Facilitate: impeded

Arbitrary: rational

Diligent: lazy

Superfluous: vital

Prim: lax

Impoverished: affluent

Incessant: occasional

Speaker: the voice in a poem

Diction: a writerâs choice of words

Connotation: the suggested meanings of a word or phrase; the meanings and feelings that have become associated with the word, in addition to its explicit meaning

Imagery: words or phrases that use description to create pictures, or images, in the readerâs mind.

Rhyme Scheme: the pattern of rhymes in a stanza or poem

Couplets: a pair of successive rhymed lines of poetry

Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds in a group of words close together

Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds in a group of words close together

Onomatopoeia: the use of word whose sound imitates or reinforces its meaning

Figurative Language: language that is used to describe one thing in terms of something else; language that is not intended to be taken literally

Simile: a direct comparison made between two unlike things, using a word of comparison such as like or as

Metaphor: a comparison made between two things which are basically dissimilar, with the intent of giving added meaning to one of them

Personification: a figure of speech in which something nonhuman is given human characteristics or feelings

Symbol: something in a literary work which maintains its own meaning while at the same time standing for something broader than itself

Tone: the attitude a writer takes toward the subject or the reader of a work of literature

Theme: the main idea expressed in a literary work; the central insight that the work gives us about human life

Pun: a humorous play on words, using either (1) two or more different meanings of the same word, or (2) two or more words that are spelled and pronounced somewhat the same but have different meanings

Allusion: a reference to a work of literature or to a well-known historical event, person, or place

Refrain: one or more words, phrases, or lines that are repeated regularly in a poem, usually at the end of each stanza

Stanza: a group of related lines that forms a division of a poem or a song

Rhythm: in language, the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables

Meter: the regular pattern of rhythmâthat is, of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse

Blank Verse: verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameterâthat is, with each line usually containing five iambs, which consist of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

Sonnet: a lyric poem having fourteen rhymed lines, usually written in iambic pentameter

Haiku: 17 syllable poem

Hyperbole: a figure of speech that uses exaggeration or overstatement for effect

Narrative: poetry that tells a story

Lyric: verse, usually brief, which focuses on the emotions or thoughts of the speaker

Dramatic: poetry in which one or more characters speak

Poetic License: a writerâs freedom to break conventional rules in order to use language playfully and creatively, usually to create mood or enhance meaning

31. Plot: the sequence of related events that make up a story or a drama

32. Climax: the moment of highest emotional intensity in a plot, when the outcome of the conflict is finally made clear to us

33. Setting: the time and place in which the events of a literary work take place

34. Flashback: a scene in a story or play that interrupts the present action to tell about events that happened at an earlier time

35. Exposition: the kind of writing that explains a subject or provides information

36. Irony: a contrast or discrepancy between what it states and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen

37. Conflict: a struggle between two opposing forces in a piece of literature. Can take many forms, may be external or internal

o Person vs. person

o Person vs. society

o Person vs. nature

o Person vs. self

38. Denouement: a final unraveling of all complications

The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.
The outcome of a sequence of events; the end result.

39. Atmosphere: the general mood or feeling established in a work of literature

40. Foreshadowing: the use of clues that hint at important plot developments that are to follow in a story or drama

41. Direct Characterization: read through writing, the author simply tells you what the character is like (writer explicitly tells us what they are like)

42. Indirect Characterization: you learn about the character through their actions and comments other characters make regarding them (writer makes us figure out for selves)

43. Literal Language: language that states facts or ideas directly

44. Denotation: the explicit meaning of a word, as listed in a dictionary

45. Free Verse: poetry that doesnât have a fixed line length, stanza form, rhyme scheme, or meter

46. Resolution: the conclusion is shown and then conflict in the story is resolved