what is irony and how can i get rid of irony
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Answer:
Irony (from Ancient Greek εἰρωνεία eirōneía 'dissimulation, feigned ignorance'[1]), in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event in which what on the surface appears to be the case or to be expected differs radically from what is actually the case.
A stop sign ironically defaced with a plea not to deface stop signs
Irony can be categorized into different types, including verbal irony, dramatic irony, and situational irony. Verbal, dramatic, and situational irony are often used for emphasis in the assertion of a truth. The ironic form of simile, used in sarcasm, and some forms of litotes can emphasize one's meaning by the deliberate use of language which states the opposite of the truth, denies the contrary of the truth, or drastically and obviously understates a factual connection.[2]4
In my recently published book, Irony and Sarcasm, I attempt to disentangle knotty issues like these.
In general, irony refers to a clash between expectations and outcomes. Typically, the outcome is the opposite of what someone wanted or hoped for. It’s ironic, for example, when your boss calls you into her office, and you’re expecting a promotion, but you instead find out you’ve been fired.
This clash carries over to verbal irony, in which people say the opposite of what they literally mean. But such expectations are subjective, and verbal ironists don’t always mean the exact opposite of what they say. Insulting someone by saying they’re the most intelligent person on Earth, for example, doesn’t mean they are the least intelligent; it just means they’re not all that bright.
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Some cases, however, are relatively straightforward. Consider situational irony, in which two things become odd or humorous when juxtaposed. A photo of a sign in front of a school with a misspelled word – “We are committed to excellense” – went viral. And the January 2020 rescheduling of an annual snowball fight at the University of British Columbia was correctly described as ironic because of the reason for the cancellation: too much snow.