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Oxymoron From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An oxymoron (plural oxymora or oxymorons) (from Greek ὀξύμωρον, "sharp dull") is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. Oxymora appear in a variety of contexts, including inadvertent errors such as ground pilot and literary oxymorons crafted to reveal a paradox.
Oxymora are not always a pair of words; they can also be devised in the meaning of sentences or phrases.
[h=2]Etymology[/h]Oxymoron is derived from the 5th century Latin "oxymoron", which is derived from the Ancient Greek "ὀξύς" (oxus, sharp) + "μωρός" (mōros, dull).[SUP][1][/SUP] The Greek "ὀξύμωρον" (oxumōron) is not found in the extant Greek sources, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.[SUP][2][/SUP]
Taxonomy[/h]Richard Lederer assembled a taxonomy of oxymora in an article in Word Ways in 1990,[SUP][3][/SUP] running from single-word oxymora such as "pianoforte" (literally, "soft-loud") through "doublespeak oxymora" (deliberately intended to confuse) and "opinion oxymora" (editorial opinions designed to provoke a laugh). In general, oxymora can be divided into expressions that were deliberately crafted to be contradictory and those phrases that inadvertently or incidentally contain a contradiction, often as a result of a punning use of one or both words.
[h=2]Apparent oxymora[/h]Many oxymora have been popularised in vernacular speech. Examples include controlled chaos, open secret, organized mess, alone in a crowd, and accidentally on purpose.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
There are also examples in which terms that are superficially contradictory are juxtaposed in such a way that there is no contradiction. Examples include same difference, jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly, and hot ice (where hot means stolen and icemeans diamonds, respectively, in criminal argot).[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
[h=2]Oxymora as paradoxes[/h]Writers often use an oxymoron to call attention to an apparent contradiction. For example, Wilfred Owen's poem The Send-off refers to soldiers leaving for the front line, who "lined the train with faces grimly gay." The oxymoron grimly gay highlights the contradiction between how the soldiers feel and how they act: though they put on a brave face and act cheerfully, they feel grim.
One case where many oxymora are strung together can be found in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo declares:
Sometimes a pair of terms is claimed to be an oxymoron by those who hold the opinion that the two are mutually exclusive. That is, although there is no inherent contradiction between the terms, the speaker expresses the opinion that the two terms imply properties or characteristics that cannot occur together. Such claims may be made purely for humorous effect; many examples, such as military intelligence, freedom fighters, business ethics were popularized by comedian George Carlin. Another example is the term civil war, which is not an oxymoron, but can be claimed to be so for humorous effect, if civil is construed as meaning polite rather than between citizens of the same state. Alternatively, such claims may reflect a genuinely held opinion or ideological position. Well-known examples include claims made against "government worker", "honest broker", "educational television," "Microsoft Works" and "working from home".
An oxymoron (plural oxymora or oxymorons) (from Greek ὀξύμωρον, "sharp dull") is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. Oxymora appear in a variety of contexts, including inadvertent errors such as ground pilot and literary oxymorons crafted to reveal a paradox.
Oxymoron by Acke Hydén
The most common form of oxymoron involves an adjective-noun combination of two words. For example, the following line from Tennyson's Idylls of the King contains two oxymora:"And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true."
Other examples of oxymora of this kind are:
- Dark light
- Living dead
- Guest host (also: Permanent guest host)
Oxymora are not always a pair of words; they can also be devised in the meaning of sentences or phrases.
[h=2]Etymology[/h]Oxymoron is derived from the 5th century Latin "oxymoron", which is derived from the Ancient Greek "ὀξύς" (oxus, sharp) + "μωρός" (mōros, dull).[SUP][1][/SUP] The Greek "ὀξύμωρον" (oxumōron) is not found in the extant Greek sources, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.[SUP][2][/SUP]
Taxonomy[/h]Richard Lederer assembled a taxonomy of oxymora in an article in Word Ways in 1990,[SUP][3][/SUP] running from single-word oxymora such as "pianoforte" (literally, "soft-loud") through "doublespeak oxymora" (deliberately intended to confuse) and "opinion oxymora" (editorial opinions designed to provoke a laugh). In general, oxymora can be divided into expressions that were deliberately crafted to be contradictory and those phrases that inadvertently or incidentally contain a contradiction, often as a result of a punning use of one or both words.
[h=2]Apparent oxymora[/h]Many oxymora have been popularised in vernacular speech. Examples include controlled chaos, open secret, organized mess, alone in a crowd, and accidentally on purpose.[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
There are also examples in which terms that are superficially contradictory are juxtaposed in such a way that there is no contradiction. Examples include same difference, jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly, and hot ice (where hot means stolen and icemeans diamonds, respectively, in criminal argot).[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
[h=2]Oxymora as paradoxes[/h]Writers often use an oxymoron to call attention to an apparent contradiction. For example, Wilfred Owen's poem The Send-off refers to soldiers leaving for the front line, who "lined the train with faces grimly gay." The oxymoron grimly gay highlights the contradiction between how the soldiers feel and how they act: though they put on a brave face and act cheerfully, they feel grim.
One case where many oxymora are strung together can be found in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo declares:
"O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!
Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms!
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!"
Some paradoxical oxymora become clichés:Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms!
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!"
- Bitter sweet
- Deafening silence
- Dry Drunk
- Forward retreat
- Irregular pattern
- Noisy silence
- Quiet riot
- Serious joke
- Sweet sorrow
Sometimes a pair of terms is claimed to be an oxymoron by those who hold the opinion that the two are mutually exclusive. That is, although there is no inherent contradiction between the terms, the speaker expresses the opinion that the two terms imply properties or characteristics that cannot occur together. Such claims may be made purely for humorous effect; many examples, such as military intelligence, freedom fighters, business ethics were popularized by comedian George Carlin. Another example is the term civil war, which is not an oxymoron, but can be claimed to be so for humorous effect, if civil is construed as meaning polite rather than between citizens of the same state. Alternatively, such claims may reflect a genuinely held opinion or ideological position. Well-known examples include claims made against "government worker", "honest broker", "educational television," "Microsoft Works" and "working from home".
?? The person you are referring to can change his 'signature line" big deal, no one's impresed
