Adapted from "Irony and Sarcasm" by Roger Kreuz (MIT Press, 2020). Reprinted with permission from MIT Press. In February 1996, Alanis Morissette released the fourth single from “Jagged Little Pill,” ...

Like simile, metaphor, personification and hyperbole, irony is a very useful figure of speech. Writers and other creative workers regularly make use of it, including comedians. It can, however, also ...

The Brits have long complained that many Americans don't get irony (for instance, we published a telling story from a British expat last week, and then there was the time the editor of Business ...

It’s hard to make irony shine through in writing without the full range of eloquent pause, verbal inflection, arched eyebrow and wry lip that we can employ in person. People noticed this problem long ...

Irony, karma and hypocrisy can bring richness to our existence. Irony can just be a twist on what is expected. For example, a past CEO of Crayola was color blind. A street sign for Electric Avenue has ...