Dear Alanis Morissette,
This is an example of irony. According to the Oxford English Dictionary “irony” is “a figure of speech in which the intended meaning is the opposite of that expressed by the words used.” Granted, the above example does not contain a figure of speech, but it contains visual irony. Out of all the spelling words, only “illiterate” was spelled correctly. And illiterate means “unable to read or write.” Get it?
Your song, “Ironic,” now notorious for not having one actual example of irony, is in itself ironic. I’m fairly certain they teach word meanings in Canada, but maybe you weren’t paying attention.
- Insects in wine? Not ironic.
- Posthumous pardons? Ask their families. Not ironic.
- Rain on your wedding day? Not ironic. Does the humidity cause Diana Ross “Love Hangover” hair? Perhaps. But it’s still not ironic.
So why am I hassling you 18 years later? You’ve gotten enough flak, right? I don’t want to give you any more flack (that spelling actually means “publicity,” which I’m doing right now, so that’s kind of ironic, huh?) I may be tardy to the party but I finally saw this parody of your 1995 ditty.
The video is similar, yet we are spared the braying donkiness of your singing style, as well as your epileptic seizures. I hear you have that under control now.
I think it’s great that you got to have your video played back in the day on MTV before it stopped playing videos. That’s a nice thing to have notched in your lipstick case. But they also used to play ZZ Top videos. The only member of that band without a beard is Frank Beard. That’s ironic.
And get this: the Segway tycoon died riding his Segway. Ironic.
Both Charlie Chaplin and Dolly Parton entered lookalike contests for themselves and did not win. Ironic.
Barry Manilow did not write his hit song, “I Write The Songs.” Ironic.
For more of these, check out: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/the-19-most-ironic-facts-of-all-time.
So now I hope you’ve grasped the true meaning of the word.
You, you, you oughta know.
I Don't Get It 
Do you find it ironic when people post on a bitter blog things that make them laugh?
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That IS ironic!
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By definition?
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People should not be laughing on a bitter site. They should be hating and seething and criticizing.
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I’ve noticed a lack of venom in December. Not sure what is going on out there.
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My neither. December means Festivus at all the stores and TV programs, and “airing of grievances” between family members is central to that, so bitterness should reign.
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The best part will be the day after when everyone realizes that it is all over, and it went too fast. Then they will realize that they gained weight, didn’t get anything they wanted, they house is filled with Christmas decorations that are no longer relavent and all they have to look forward to is New Year’s and resolutions about how they will lose weight. Bitterness will reign again and I will be back in business.
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Way to see the bright side and the bitter side at the exact same time! It’s ironic that you find so much joy in bitterness. Almost like schadenfreude…
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I call it the Bitter Cycle. Basically when someone else in pain (schadenfreude) I find enjoyment in that, which makes me bitter, which I get enjoyment out of…etc.
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Hahahahahahahahahahah. I HATE that bloody song and our local radio station STILL plays it too regularly for my liking. And yes, I hate how the only irony about that song is that NOTHING in it is ironic.
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Still? After all these years? Oy.
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Reblogged this on ENGLISH LANGUAGE REVIEW .
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🙂
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Maybe the singer meant WAS being ironic, calling her song ironic when it’s really not. Then again, I doubt it.
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Nah, she said she wasn’t paying too much attention to accuracy, but she did laugh all the way to the bank with this hit song. Because she didn’t get it right, she called herself the “Queen of Malapropisms,” which is even more confusing. That ties my tongue.
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“Queen of Malapropisms?” That’s got a good ring to it.
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