Irony vs Humour - What's the difference?
irony | humour |
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
(label) Moist vapour, moisture.
Any of the fluids in an animal body, especially the four "cardinal humours" of blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm that were believed to control the health and mood of the human body.
*, Book I, New York 2001, p. 147:
* 1763 , (Antoine-Simon Le Page Du Pratz),
(label) Either of the two regions of liquid within the eyeball, the aqueous humour and vitreous humour.
(label) A mood, especially a bad mood; a temporary state of mind or disposition brought upon by an event; an abrupt illogical inclination or whim.
* (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
* (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
* (1633?-1684)
* (Robert South) (1634–1716)
*{{quote-book, year=1899, author=(Stephen Crane)
, title=, chapter=1
, passage=[…] (it was the town's humour to be always gassing of phantom investors who were likely to come any moment and pay a thousand prices for everything) — “[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. […]”}}
(label) The quality of being amusing, comical, funny.
* (Oliver Goldsmith) (1730-1774)
* (Washington Irving) (1783-1859)
*
*{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
, passage=Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour .}}
To pacify by indulging.
As nouns the difference between irony and humour
is that 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 while humour is moist vapour, moisture.As an adjective irony
is of or pertaining to the metal iron.As a verb humour is
to pacify by indulging.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 * ferroushumour
English
(wikipedia humour)Alternative forms
* humor (qualifier)Noun
(en noun)- A humour is a liquid or fluent part of the body, comprehended in it, for the preservation of it; and is either innate or born with us, or adventitious and acquisite.
History of Louisisana(PG), (tr. 1774) p. 42:
- For some days a fistula lacrymalis had come into my left eye, which discharged an humour , when pressed, that portended danger.
- a prince of a pleasant humour
- I like not the humour of lying.
- Examine how your humour is inclined, / And which the ruling passion of your mind.
- Is my friend all perfection, all virtue and discretion? Has he not humours to be endured?
- For thy sake I admit / That a Scot may have humour , I'd almost said wit.
- A great deal of excellent humour was expended on the perplexities of mine host.
- They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups. The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpected humour and high spirits.
Synonyms
* bodily fluid * (mood) mood * (something funny) comedy, wit, witticism * (quality of being amusing) amusingness, comedy, comicality, witDerived terms
* aqueous humour * black humour * crystalline humour * gallows humour * humoral * humorous * humorist * humorism * out of humour * sense of humour * toilet humour * vitreous humourVerb
- I know you don't believe my story, but humour me for a minute and imagine it to be true.