Irony vs Chance - What's the difference?
irony | chance |
A statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context.
Dramatic irony: a theatrical effect in which the meaning of a situation, or some incongruity in the plot, is understood by the audience, but not by the characters in the play.
Ignorance feigned]] for the purpose of confounding or [[provoke, provoking an antagonist; Socratic irony.
{{cite news
, date=2008-06-30
, title=Isn’t It Ironic? Probably Not
, first=Bob
, last=Harris
, newspaper=The New York Times
(countable) An opportunity or possibility.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2
, passage=Here was my chance . I took the old man aside, and two or three glasses of Old Crow launched him into reminiscence.}}
(uncountable) Random occurrence; luck.
(countable) The probability of something happening.
(archaic) To happen by chance, to occur.
* Bible, Deuteronomy xxii. 6
* Shakespeare
* 1843 , (Thomas Carlyle), '', book 2, ch. XV, ''Practical — Devotional
* 1847 , , (Jane Eyre), Chapter XVIII
(archaic) To befall; to happen to.
* 1826 , William Lambarde, A Perambulation of Kent
To try or risk.
* W. D. Howells
To discover something by chance.
(rare) Happening]] by [[#Noun, chance, casual.
* 1859 , (Charles Dickens), (A Tale of Two Cities)'', ch. VI, ''The Shoe Maker (Heron Book Centenial Edition)
As a noun irony
is a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context.As an adjective irony
is of or pertaining to the metal iron.As a proper noun chance is
, an american pet form of chauncey, in modern usage also associated with the word chance.irony
English
(wikipedia irony)Etymology 1
First attested in 1502. From (etyl) ironie, from (etyl), from (etyl) .Noun
citation, accessdate=2011-01-06 }}
ironic], [[w:TheFreeDictionary.com, TheFreeDictionary.com], accessed 4 November 2011: The words ironic'', ''irony'', and ''ironically'' are sometimes used of events and circumstances that might better be described as simply "coincidental" or "improbable," in that they suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly. Thus 78 percent of the Usage Panel rejects the use of ironically in the sentence ''In 1969 Susie moved from Ithaca to California where she met her husband-to-be, who, ironically, also came from upstate New York''. Some Panelists noted that this particular usage might be acceptable if Susie had in fact moved to California in order to find a husband, in which case the story could be taken as exemplifying the folly of supposing that we can know what fate has in store for us. By contrast, 73 percent accepted the sentence ''Ironically, even as the government was fulminating against American policy, American jeans and videocassettes were the hottest items in the stalls of the market , where the incongruity can be seen as an example of human inconsistency. Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected.
Usage notes
* Some authorities omit the last sense, "contradiction of circumstances and expectations, condition contrary to what might be expected", however it has been in common use since the 1600s.irony, Online Etymology Dictionary
Derived terms
* dramatic irony * irony mark * ironic * ironical * ironist * Socratic ironyReferences
Etymology 2
Synonyms
* ferric * ferrouschance
English
Alternative forms
* chaunce (obsolete)Noun
(en noun)Derived terms
(Terms derived from the noun "chance") * Buckley's chance * by chance * chance'd be a fine thing * chance fracture * chance-medley * chancer * chances are * chancy * Chinaman's chance * dog's chance * even chance * fair chance * fat chance * fighting chance * first-chance exception * game of chance * half a chance * happy chance * in with a chance * jump at the chance * last chance * last chance saloon * main chance * mum chance * not a chance * off chance/off-chance * outside chance * perchance * slim chance * smart chance * snowball's chance * snowball's chance in hell * sporting chance * stand a chanceVerb
(chanc)- It chanced that I found a solution the very next day.
- if a bird's nest chance to be before thee
- I chanced on this letter.
- Once it chanced that Geoffrey Riddell (Bishop of Ely), a Prelate rather troublesome to (w), made a request of him for timber from his woods towards certain edifices going on at (Glemsford).
- Mr. Mason, shivering as some one chanced to open the door, asked for more coal to be put on the fire, which had burnt out its flame, though its mass of cinder still shone hot and red. The footman who brought the coal, in going out, stopped near Mr. Eshton's chair, and said something to him in a low voice, of which I heard only the words, "old woman,"—"quite troublesome."
- Shall we carry the umbrella, or chance a rainstorm?
- Come what will, I will chance it.
- He chanced upon a kindly stranger who showed him the way.
Derived terms
* (l) * * (l)Adjective
(en adjective)- No crowd was about the door; no people were discernible at any of the many windows; not even a chance passer-by was in the street. An unnatural silence and desertion reigned there.