How to define and distinguish between coincedence and irony?

Danny · Feb 27, 2008

Hello GTPlanet,

Following a discussion with friends today, despite being able to identify irony, I couldn't for the life of me define it.

Google says:

[SIZE=-1]Irony- incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated"[/SIZE]

Anyone have any tips on distinguishing between them in everyday conversation?

Sage · Feb 28, 2008

That’s not a particularly good definition. I like this one better: a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.

Compare with coincidence: a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection.

Ironic events are a subset of coincidental events, but coincidental events are not necessarily ironic. The key words in the first definition are seems deliberately contrary to what one expects. For example, if you take the lines “A traffic jam/when you’re already late” from Alanis Morissette’s song, you’ll notice that that’s an unfortunate coincidence, but it’s not deliberately contrary to what you expect.

Keef · Feb 28, 2008

That song, Ironic, is ironic. There's not a bit of irony in it.

Omnis · Feb 28, 2008

There are different kinds of irony. Coincidences can also be ironic

Max Powers · Feb 28, 2008

Keef
That song, Ironic, is ironic. There's not a bit of irony in it.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

you're a funny guy keef.

land sea air · Feb 28, 2008

not being able to define Irony is quite Ironic, I remember when I was very young asking about a book called "Pumping Irony". I asked my sister and her husband what Irony was and after several minutes of trying to explain it to me what it meant, they finally realized how ironic the situation was!

Keef · Feb 28, 2008

Omnis
There are different kinds of irony. Coincidences can also be ironic

...

I believe Sage covered irony and coincidences like whipped cream on nipples. He already said what you said.

SolidSnake15 · Feb 28, 2008

Wikipedia
Definition: irony of a situation is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results when enlivened by 'perverse appropriateness'.

Wikipedia
Coincidence is the noteworthy alignment of two or more events or circumstances without obvious causal connection.

Would this be an example of irony or a coincidence:

One day at school we had a fire drill. While we where standing by the street a fire truck just randomly drives by. So I said, "Well that's ironic."

EDIT: This could actually turn out to be a good topic.

Omnis · Feb 28, 2008

No, not really. That's just a coincidence.

Ironic would be the firetruck driving away from your school and your school subsequently bursting into flames.

SolidSnake15 · Feb 28, 2008

Omnis
No, not really. That's just a coincidence.

Ironic would be the firetruck driving away from your school and your school subsequently bursting into flames.

Too bad that's only one of my dreams...

Wolfe · Feb 28, 2008

One of the clearest cases of irony I've found is described in the Wikipedia article for the term.

Wikipedia
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.

Omnis · Feb 28, 2008

SolidSnake15
Too bad that's only one of my dreams...

Don't say that. If it's that bad, work hard enough to start your own school.

SolidSnake15 · Feb 29, 2008

Omnis
Don't say that. If it's that bad, work hard enough to start your own school.

Heh, mabey I'll start a sports entertainment wrestling school! Me and my buddy are pretty good at putting on a VERY good wrestling act. Like you see in the WWE. (I know it's fake!!!!!!!!!!!!) We even plan on choreographing a match to put on YouTube! Too bad we're too lazy to choreograph it anytime soon.

wfooshee · Feb 29, 2008

I have a customer whose Internet connection is with BellSouth. They have their own mail server onsite.

Mail they've sent to addresses on att.net have been rejected as coming from an untrusted network.

AT&T now owns BellSouth.

My customer was not as appreciative of the irony as I was.

Coincidence is a completely different concept. I don't see the confusion.

ShobThaBob · Mar 9, 2008

Irony is coincidence with a sense of humor.

Stevisiov · Mar 10, 2008

I find the word trendy ironic, but thats another story...

Famine · Mar 10, 2008

Anything situation similar to that contained within the aforementioned Alanis Morissette song should be considered as not being ironic.

Which is ironic.

ERacer · Apr 9, 2008

I once fractured my heel in an accident while riding a Razor Scooter. After I got back from the hospital with a soft cast, I had to use that same scooter to help me get around the house - that's irony.

My younger brother suffered the same fate later that summer - that is coincidence.

ERacer

wfooshee · Apr 9, 2008

You just made that up, didn't you?

Really nice illustration, though.

ERacer · Apr 9, 2008

Nope - true, unfortunately. Smashed by heel into the Belgian blocks lining the end of my brother's driveway. His driveway slopes down at a steep angle, so it looked like a fun thing to try the Razor. Then, my idiot brother (look who's talking lol) does the same stupid stunt later that summer. Guess it runs in the family.

3-Wheel Drive · Apr 15, 2008

Irony is being hit and killed by a speeding ambulance.

Touring Mars · Jun 21, 2008

Getting ready to watch the F1 qualifying this morning and I stick some sausages under the grill... After a few minutes, I try to turn them, but find that they have stuck to the tin foil a bit, and I think to myself that I must avoid this brand in future... still, I get them turned and wait another five minutes. I go to take them out of the grill and the grill pan slides out of the cooker unexpectedly, as I had inadvertently put the grill pan in the wrong way... as it slipped out of my control, I managed stop the tin foil from hitting the deck, but expected "sausages overboard" nevertheless. Amazingly, the sausages had got stuck to the foil again, and my breakfast was miraculously saved from ruin... I think to myself that perhaps I should stick with these sausages, as they are apparently idiot-proof.

V1P3R · Jun 21, 2008

uh... who grills sausages for breakfast... ?

Especially in this weather...

ROAD_DOGG33J · Jun 21, 2008

I'm guessing morning was closer to afternoon.

SolidSnake15 · Jun 22, 2008

V1P3R
uh... who grills sausages for breakfast... ?

Especially in this weather...

People with good taste...

What kind of sausages were they?

Omnis · Nov 19, 2008

Irony is Ice T playing a cop on TV.

How to define and distinguish between coincedence and irony?

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