ANSWERS: 37
  • The difference between the expected and what actually happens. Example: Working for hours on your makeup and outfit, then walking down the street and having some car go through a puddle and spray you everywhere.
  • Irony is my friend wishing she could have a child. Then her sister who does have a child ends up getting cancer and dying and then she gets the child. Sort of like "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it".
  • There are three major types of irony. Situational: Simply, the unexpected happens. (You think the couple will end up together and live happily ever after, and one dies or something.) Verbal: Someone says something, but they mean something different. (Think of soap opera characters betraying each other. Promising to do one thing, but doing another.) Dramatic: The read/viewer knows something that the character or characters do not know. (Horror films, when you see the bad guy behind the door.)
  • A good example of irony is Christopher Reeves after starring many times as the role of Superman getting hurt and paralysed from the waist down. Now this isn't funny irony, its more or less a sad irony but it is ironic none the less.
  • The first video ever played on MTV was "Video killed the radio star"
  • Winning the lottery and then dying.
  • It’s like raaaaaaiiinnn on your wedding day. It’s a freeeeee ride, when you’ve already paid.
  • I worked with a guy who did the IT systems for the Women's Christian Temperance Union (Carrie Nation's old outfit, yes, it's still around), and it was so frustrating that he took an occasional extra drink.
  • Winning the lottery then dying is not Irony Alanis Morrisets song is full of bad luck stories not Irony.
  • record companies started putting labels on cds saying 'parental advisory - explicit lyrics' to stop children from buying them, but instead more children bought them BECAUSE those labels were there. that is irony. winning the lottery then dying is just bloody bad luck, not irony!
  • Online pop-ups offering to help you get rid of online pop-ups.
  • One of the better examples is on Wikipedia. "An unemployment agency is laying off workers because unemployment is at an all time low"
  • Irony is members of one political party investigating the ethics of members of the other.
  • It is ironic that in the UK it has done nothing but absolutely chuck it down every day and continues to rain ever more, and yet, some of those in the affected areas, are short of water.
  • from what i have seen,you are pretty good at doing your home work urself!
  • an expression of meaning ,often humorous or sarcastic by the use of language of a different or opposite tendency. eg. They are mostly as wise as the wise man of Gotham. (Note:you had better know the meaning of Gotham.)
  • Creepy, I was planning to ask this question for a long time and its about time someone asked it :) The most ironic things that amuses me is acupuncture and freezer burn!
  • The Gift of the Magi is a great example of irony. http://www.auburn.edu/~vestmon/Gift_of_the_Magi.html
  • Definition: others have already given theirs so I would no longer give one. Example: "Water, water, water everywhere, but not a single drop to drink."
  • An old man turned ninety-eight He won the lottery and died the next day It's a black fly in your Chardonnay It's a death row pardon two minutes too late And isn't it ironic... don't you think It's like rain on your wedding day It's a free ride when you've already paid It's the good advice that you just didn't take Who would've thought... it figures Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye He waited his whole damn life to take that flight And as the plane crashed down he thought "Well isn't this nice..." And isn't it ironic... don't you think It's like rain on your wedding day It's a free ride when you've already paid It's the good advice that you just didn't take Who would've thought... it figures Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you When you think everything's okay and everything's going right And life has a funny way of helping you out when You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up In your face A traffic jam when you're already late A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife It's meeting the man of my dreams And then meeting his beautiful wife And isn't it ironic...don't you think A little too ironic...and, yeah, I really do think... It's like rain on your wedding day It's a free ride when you've already paid It's the good advice that you just didn't take Who would've thought... it figures Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out Helping you out
  • Kay, I'll kind of break it down into easy examples: So, irony is something that happens that is the opposite of what you would expect to happen. Okay, so examples: If a person with diabetes is driving to the pharmacy to get some insulin and is killed in a car accident, then you have bad luck. If that person is killed by another diabetic driving to the pharmacy, you have a coincidence. But if that person is killed by a truck carrying insulin, then you've got a nice bit of irony. Here's another good example of irony: People use sun screen to shield themselves from UV rays so they won't get skin cancer, right? Well, it has been discovered that sun screen can actually give you skin cancer. So, people have been trying to prevent skin cancer, but their efforts have only been making it worse. That is some fine irony, right there.
  • When an event or condition turns on itself. Example: I stayed up all night working on my motorcycle, new engine and drive train parts, tune-up, polishing and pimping out, new gauges for better performance monitoring, and a whole of other pretty but useless crap. Next morning - taking a curve near the house on the way to the shop to get new tires - rear goes flat, I straight-lined a curve, bike hit the far edge of a big hole on the shoulder and launched itself into the phone lines - total destruction. All night long, my housemate was upstairs waiting for me in bed and all I could tell her was how important it was to work on the bike.
  • Definition(s): 1. Expression in which the intended meaning of the words is the direct opposite of their usual sense. 2. An event or result that is the opposite of what is expected. Example: Have you seen the movie, Magnolia? There's a guy who tries to commit suicide by jumping out of a 6th story window. His parents are downstairs having a fight. His Mother pulls out a shotgun to shoot his father but misses and shoots her son in the stomach on his way to the pavement. The Mother is arrested for murder. I'd say that's a pretty good example of irony.
  • In Noel Coward's Oscar-winning Cavalcade, extremely happy honeymooners wonder how long their joy will last. The camera pulls back to reveal a life preserver stenciled “RMS Titanic.” A situation immortalized in O. Henry's story The Gift of the Magi, in which a young couple is too poor to buy each other Christmas gifts. The man finally pawns his heirloom pocket watch to buy his wife a set of combs for her long, beautiful, prized hair. She, meanwhile, cuts off her treasured hair to sell it to a wig-maker for money to buy her husband a watch-chain. The irony is twofold: the couple, having parted with their tangible valuables, is caused by the act to discover the richness of the intangible. When John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, all of his shots initially missed the President; however a bullet ricocheted off the bullet-proof windows of the Presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the chest. Thus, the windows made to protect the President from gunfire were partially responsible for his being shot. Rock trio ZZ Top are famously associated with the chest-length beards of guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill. The group's drummer, who only has a mustache, happens to be named Frank Beard. A man jumps over a giant waterfall e.g. Niagara Falls in a barrel and survives, only to take a cleanup shower where he slips on the soap and dies from trauma. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an actor famous for his violence in film, campaigning against violence in video games in general - which ironically includes those featuring his own characters. An anti-technology website. An anti-federalist runs for president.
  • Im confused about irony.. would this be an example? A man in an effort to rid himself of the mice that are constantly invading his house, traps them outside and sets them on fire and then one mouse escapes and run through the hole, into the house of that very man and burns the mans house down?
  • Irony is the opposite meaning of what is said.. as simple as that... Ex. Your classmate broke your calculator, then you told him "Oh, thank you for braking my calculator!" (but the truth is you're really angry not thankful..(",))
  • Something that you expect to happen, but the total opposite happens. I just love that word and its meaning
  • Naming the National airport after the president who fired all the air-traffic controllers.
  • Like when my AUnt didn't want my cousin to learn boxing because she viewed it is barbaric. But he use it to save her from an abusive boyfriend. She hated it but it eventually got a no good junkie out of her house
  • AgnusDei's definition above covers the varieties, but I think that a feature of irony is that you cannot be quite sure if the verbal form is to be taken literally or not. The following may be an example of irony: 'What the United States of America needs right now is a right-wing Republican Government'. The pinko liberals understand exactly what it means. The redneck conservatives understand exactly what it means; but what it does mean can only be determined by a context which has not been supplied.
  • Irony is technically described as a discrepancy (gap) between what's expected and what actually happens, but it's subtler than that. I find the phrase "the very thing" is useful in explaining this. Here are examples: I once was driving down the street and looked up to see a large banner strung over the street. The banner read, "Watch for Pedestrians." I was so busy looking at the sign that I hit a pedestrian! The VERY THING intended to protect the pedestrians actually hurt them. ( Actually, I didn't hit one, but I almost did!) Here's another example: Mrs. Smith's kitty-cat was stuck in a tree. She called the firemen and they arrived, put up their ladder, and rescued the kitty. They brought the feline back down and handed it to Mrs. Smith, who was ecstatic to have her baby kitty safe and sound. She petted the cat and then let it loose in the yard. When the firemen were leaving after packing up their gear, they backed up the truck... over the cat! The VERY THING (or people) intended to help the kitten, actually hurt it. Another example: Pres. Clinton had the infamous affair with Monica Lowinsky. I don't know, but I can imagine that he told his advisors that it was very important that nothing happen to Ms. Lowinsky, for if it did, it would certainly look as if the President was trying to injure or kill a woman who was doing him harm. So, ironically, it was in his best interest to protect THE VERY woman who was out to hurt him. (This calls to mind the old saying of "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer"-- a somewhat ironic statement. Another example: (This is a true one.) In one of the many attempts on Hitler's life, the plan was for a member of the elite to strap a bomb to his chest and stand next to Hitler while the Fuhrer was inspecting a munitions plant. This suicide bomber intended to sacrifice himself in order to rid the world of Hitler. The night before the scheduled munitions plant inspection, the Allies sent bombers over Germany and destroyed the plant. Hence, no plant, no inspection, no chance to kill the Fuhrer. In an attempt to save lives by destroying the munitions plant, the Allies actually prolonged the life of their worst enemy, and therefore caused the deaths of many more people, the VERY THING they intended to prevent. Do NOT rely on Alanis Morisette's idiotic song "Isn't It Ironic?" for examples. What she describes are misfortunes, not ironies: a fly in your Chardonnay, rain on your wedding day--these are not ironic. They are merely unfortunate. Do NOT confuse "irony" with "coincidence." It is INCORRECT to say, "You were born on August 19?? So was I! How ironic!" It is INCORRECT to say, "Ironically, the last time I was at this restaurant, I ordered the same thing you just did!" Now you know.
  • Irony is technically described as a discrepancy (gap) between what's expected and what actually happens, but it's subtler than that. I find the phrase "the very thing" is useful in explaining this. Here are examples: I once was driving down the street and looked up to see a large banner strung over the street. The banner read, "Watch for Pedestrians." I was so busy looking at the sign that I hit a pedestrian! The VERY THING intended to protect the pedestrians actually hurt them. ( Actually, I didn't hit one, but I almost did!) Here's another example: Mrs. Smith's kitty-cat was stuck in a tree. She called the firemen and they arrived, put up their ladder, and rescued the kitty. They brought the feline back down and handed it to Mrs. Smith, who was ecstatic to have her baby kitty safe and sound. She petted the cat and then let it loose in the yard. When the firemen were leaving after packing up their gear, they backed up the truck... over the cat! The VERY THING (or people) intended to help the kitten, actually hurt it. Another example: Pres. Clinton had the infamous affair with Monica Lowinsky. I don't know, but I can imagine that he told his advisors that it was very important that nothing happen to Ms. Lowinsky, for if it did, it would certainly look as if the President was trying to injure or kill a woman who was doing him harm. So, ironically, it was in his best interest to protect THE VERY woman who was out to hurt him. (This calls to mind the old saying of "Keep your friends close, your enemies closer"-- a somewhat ironic statement. Another example: (This is a true one.) In one of the many attempts on Hitler's life, the plan was for a member of the elite to strap a bomb to his chest and stand next to Hitler while the Fuhrer was inspecting a munitions plant. This suicide bomber intended to sacrifice himself in order to rid the world of Hitler. The night before the scheduled munitions plant inspection, the Allies sent bombers over Germany and destroyed the plant. Hence, no plant, no inspection, no chance to kill the Fuhrer. In an attempt to save lives by destroying the munitions plant, the Allies actually prolonged the life of their worst enemy, and therefore caused the deaths of many more people, the VERY THING they intended to prevent. Do NOT rely on Alanis Morisette's idiotic song "Isn't It Ironic?" for examples. What she describes are misfortunes, not ironies: a fly in your Chardonnay, rain on your wedding day--these are not ironic. They are merely unfortunate. Do NOT confuse "irony" with "coincidence." It is INCORRECT to say, "You were born on August 19?? So was I! How ironic!" It is INCORRECT to say, "Ironically, the last time I was at this restaurant, I ordered the same thing you just did!" Now you know.
  • One day a man is on his way to work. You must remember that he works at a crosswalk, helping childeren cross the street. One day as he is runnying late to his job which starts at 9:00a.m. He is in such a hurry to park in the back parking lot of crosswalk he ends up hitting a child due. This is ironic because he was rushing to help childeren safely cross the road and he ends up killing one of them in the process. Do you agree with this?
  • Irony is something like the CEOs who make their company went bankcrupt, then they got bail out from gov and reward themselves with BIG Bonus.
  • How about all the people on here that use the Bible and Jesus to preach their hater views?
  • If you are working, you can earn enough money to do what ever you want to do but rarely have the time to do it- when you are out of the job, you have all the time in the world to do what you want, but you don't have the money to do everything you want to do.
  • something weird

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