Knowledge (XXG)

Oxymoron

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as composed of "no" plus "yes", or refers to some oxymoronic candidates as puns through the conversion of nouns into verbs, as in "divorce court", or "press release". He refers to potential oxymora such as "war games", "peacekeeping missile", "United Nations", and "airline food" as opinion-based,
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According to Wills, Buckley has "poisoned the general currency" of the word oxymoron by using it as just a "fancier word for 'contradiction'", when he said that "an intelligent liberal is an oxymoron". Wills argues that use of the term "oxymoron" should remain reserved for the conscious use of
403:"Comical oxymoron" is a humorous claim that something is an oxymoron. This is called an "opinion oxymoron" by Lederer (1990). The humor derives from implying that an assumption (which might otherwise be expected to be controversial or at least non-evident) is so obvious as to be part of the 160:
Oxymorons in the narrow sense are a rhetorical device used deliberately by the speaker and intended to be understood as such by the listener. In a more extended sense, the term "oxymoron" has also been applied to inadvertent or incidental contradictions, as in the case of
1049:"Hosted for 33 years by the conservative intellectual William F. Buckley Jr., the show The show was spawned in the earnest mid-'60s, before popular culture swallowed up the middlebrow and 'educational TV' became a comical oxymoron." 498:, as it were "harpsichord with a range of different volumes", implying that it is possible to play both soft and loud (as well as intermediate) notes, not that the sound produced is somehow simultaneously "soft and loud". 332:
In literary contexts, the author does not usually signal the use of an oxymoron, but in rhetorical usage, it has become common practice to advertise the use of an oxymoron explicitly to clarify the argument, as in:
411:": the humor derives entirely from the claim that it is an oxymoron by the implication that "television" is so trivial as to be inherently incompatible with "education". In a 2009 article called "Daredevil", 466:", etc., does not create oxymorons, as it is not implied that any given object has the two opposing properties simultaneously. In some languages, it is not necessary to place a conjunction like 426:
in 1975 include "military intelligence" (a play on the lexical meanings of the term "intelligence", implying that "military" inherently excludes the presence of "intelligence") and "
165:" ("barely clothed" or "terribly good"). Lederer (1990), in the spirit of "recreational linguistics", goes as far as to construct "logological oxymorons" such as reading the word 812: 616: 1234: 152:, which would correspond to the Latin formation, does not seem to appear in any known Ancient Greek works prior to the formation of the Latin term. 833:, which is the proper arrangement of one's anatomy, to describe things all turned around. For that state of disarray the expression should be 528: 359:). However, the explicit advertisement of the use of oxymorons opened up a sliding scale of less than obvious construction, ending in the " 437:
Similarly, the term "civil war" is sometimes jokingly referred to as an "oxymoron" (punning on the lexical meanings of the word "civil").
318: 68: 942: 1227: 766:. Retrieved 26 February 2013. "Pointedly foolish: a witty saying, the more pointed from being paradoxical or seemingly absurd." 291: 1618: 618:
Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part III: The Antigone
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of sentences or phrases. One classic example of the use of oxymorons in English literature can be found in this example from
430:" (similarly implying that the mutual exclusion of the two terms is evident or commonly understood rather than the partisan 751: 482:), 善惡 (good and evil, morality) are used to indicate couples, ranges, or the trait that these are extremes of. The Italian 1444: 1083: 579: 1028:. It has been suggested that the actual etymology of the Tolkien surname is more likely from the village of Tolkynen in 691: 776: 727: 638:"A figure of speech in which a pair of opposed or markedly contradictory terms are placed in conjunction for emphasis" 1020: 419:
of popularizing this trend, based on the success of the latter's claim that "an intelligent liberal is an oxymoron".
1491: 1220: 763: 739: 703: 548: 543: 781: 28: 984: 98: 1136:(1998), p. 131, but already alluded to in 1939 by John Dover Wilson in his edition of William Shakespeare's 956: 929: 431: 347:
In this example, "Epicurean pessimist" would be recognized as an oxymoron in any case, as the core tenet of
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There are a number of single-word oxymorons built from "dependent morphemes" (i.e. no longer a productive
283: 337:"Voltaire we might call, by an oxymoron which has plenty of truth in it, an 'Epicurean pessimist.'" ( 1582: 1401: 895: 558: 131:"dull, stupid, foolish"; as it were, "sharp-dull", "keenly stupid", or "pointedly foolish". The word 1567: 1316: 1269: 1142:
The King of Heaven forbid our lord the king / Should so with civil and uncivil arms Be rushed upon!
887: 883: 859: 533: 308: 1633: 1628: 1623: 1608: 1411: 1196: 970: 711: 670:"the captured can be captured: said with bitterness, for if you were to remove that, it would be 553: 515: 416: 1069: 440:
Other examples include "honest politician", "affordable caviar" (1993), "happily married" and "
1361: 1309: 1304: 1251: 1002: 907: 846: 679: 189: 72: 1025: 1613: 1243: 1188: 1129: 864: 663: 478:). For example, in Chinese, compounds like 男女 (man and woman, male and female, gender), 陰陽 ( 475: 370: 339: 232: 178: 136: 60: 1603: 1540: 838: 807: 715: 441: 427: 364: 198: 817: 599:; so especially of such apparently contradictory assertions as: cum tacent clamant, etc. 17: 299: 287: 271: 79:. A general meaning of "contradiction in terms" is recorded by the 1902 edition of the 202: 1597: 1550: 1346: 891: 759: 735: 699: 459: 423: 162: 102: 64: 470:
between the two antonyms; such compounds (not necessarily of antonyms) are known as
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expressions which at first sight appear absurd, but which contain a concealed point
523: 479: 348: 1144: :"A quibbling oxymoron: 'civil' refers to civil war; 'uncivil' = barbarous". 194: 1179:
Shen, Yeshayahu (1987). "On the structure and understanding of poetic oxymoron".
1054: 385: 1449: 1434: 1429: 1321: 1284: 1264: 412: 322: 275: 227: 924:(1595), of feminine virtue, echoed by Milton as "modest pride". Joshua Scodel, 509: 1577: 1481: 1454: 1386: 1376: 1356: 1331: 1279: 1029: 505: 490: 484: 374: 279: 1153:"This opened up an oxymoron too dreadful to contemplate: affordable caviar" ( 714:, with the assistance of McKenzie, Roderick. Oxford: Clarendon Press. In the 668:
capti potuere capi, cum felle dictum est: nam si hoc removeas, erit oxymorum.
1508: 1486: 1469: 1459: 1351: 1341: 1336: 1326: 1294: 1289: 356: 326: 223: 215: 207: 37: 1545: 1530: 1525: 1498: 1474: 1439: 1424: 1419: 1391: 1366: 1299: 1115:"Saturday Night Live transcripts." Season 1, Episode 1. 11 October 1975. 352: 262:
Other examples from English-language literature include: "hateful good" (
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in English, but loaned as a compound from a different language), as with
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However, the usage of "oxymoron" for "contradiction" is recorded by the
313:'when they are silent, they cry out'), "melancholy merriment" ( 139:, i.e., it is itself an example of an oxymoron. The Greek compound word 1520: 1513: 1200: 538: 471: 453: 404: 263: 174:
because some may disagree that they contain an internal contradiction.
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concepts with opposite meanings within a word or in a phrase that is a
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This article is about the contradiction in terms. For other uses, see
1572: 1396: 654: 295: 146: 124: 112: 1212: 1192: 1503: 325:) "delighted sorrow", "loyal treachery", and "scalding coolness" ( 314: 237: 666:) "Could captured slaves not be enslaved again?" (William 1910): 1067:
contradiction to express something that is "surprisingly true".
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combination of two words, but they can also be devised in the
75:, an oxymoron illustrates a point to communicate and reveal a 752: 728: 692: 494:
is an example from a Western language; the term is short for
140: 119: 106: 321:), "conventionally unconventional", "tortuous spontaneity" ( 829:"closely related to hysteron proteron, it shouldn't be 255:  Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! 1134:
Gender and Institutions: Welfare, Work and Citizenship
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Excess and the Mean in Early Modern English Literature
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Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!
211:(an artificial Greek compound, lit. "wise-foolish"). 41:
Oxymorons are words that communicate contradictions.
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Le style de Ernest Hemingway: la plume et le masque
813:Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics 251:  Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! 1117:http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75acarlin2.phtml 674:." see H. Klingenberg in Birkmann et al. (ed.), 373:interpreted his own surname as derived from the 974:: "And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true." 718:, Tufts University. Retrieved 26 February 2013. 391:) which would be a literal equivalent of Greek 247:  O anything of nothing first create! 242: 407:. An example of such a "comical oxymoron" is " 1228: 880:Secundus philosophus: paupertas odibile bonum 257:This love feel I, that feel no love in this. 214:The most common form of oxymoron involves an 187:(lit. "with the hinder part before", compare 8: 1038:Deutsche Familiennamen preussischer Herkunft 383: 1128:Discussed by L. Coltheart in Moira Gatens, 621:. Cambridge University Press. p. 567. 578:Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879). 91: 1235: 1221: 1213: 803: 801: 799: 169:composed of "no" and "ok" or the surname 36: 570: 317:), "faith unfaithful", "falsely true" ( 710:, revised and augmented throughout by 611:Jebb, Richard C. (1900). "Sophocles, 529:Colorless green ideas sleep furiously 360: 89:is first recorded as Latinized Greek 7: 1140:(p. 193), in reference to the line 1070:"Wills watching by Michael McDonald" 240:strings together thirteen in a row: 101:(c. AD 400); it is derived from the 904:Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer 878:"Poverte is hatel good", glossed 355:(which would preclude any sort of 249:O heavy lightness, serious vanity! 25: 1018:(2013), p. 164f; J. R. Holmes in 943:Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions 422:Examples popularized by comedian 508: 245:O brawling love! O loving hate! 496:gravicembalo col piano e forte 458:Listing of antonyms, such as " 1: 900:Notes on the Canterbury Tales 742:. Retrieved 26 February 2013. 882:; the saying is recorded by 147: 125: 113: 1084:""Daredevil" - Garry Wills" 1021:J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia 118:"sharp, keen, pointed" and 1650: 1106:from the year 1902 onward. 753: 729: 693: 549:Principle of contradiction 544:Performative contradiction 451: 141: 120: 107: 81:Oxford English Dictionary. 26: 1170:, Volume 1 (2000), p. 45. 1168:A Treasury of Email Humor 1016:The Riddles of The Hobbit 782:Oxford English Dictionary 627:(a paradox with a point). 582:. Oxford: Clarendon Press 290:), "expressive silence" ( 29:Oxymoron (disambiguation) 1014:see e.g. Adam Roberts, ^ 985:The Lesson of the Master 816:(1990), online version: 343:vol. 170 (1890), p. 289) 99:Maurus Servius Honoratus 18:Contradictio in terminis 957:Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot 716:Perseus Digital Library 712:Jones, Sir Henry Stuart 708:A Greek–English Lexicon 274:), "darkness visible" ( 997:Geneviève Hily-Mane , 810:, "Oxymoronology" in 660:num capti potuere capi 409:educational television 384: 303: 284:damn with faint praise 278:), "beggarly riches" ( 260: 92: 42: 1619:Rhetorical techniques 700:Liddell, Henry George 678:, de Gruyter (1997), 452:Further information: 40: 896:Walter William Skeat 890:(also referenced in 862:. "Act 1, Scene 1". 860:Shakespeare, William 580:"A Latin Dictionary" 559:Tautology (rhetoric) 270:) "proud humility" ( 1568:Rhetorical question 1072:. The New Criterion 888:Secundus the Silent 884:Vincent of Beauvais 474:(a term taken from 1166:Lisa Marie Meier, 971:Idylls of the King 818:fun-with-words.com 613:Oedipus at Colonus 554:Self-refuting idea 516:Linguistics portal 417:William F. Buckley 399:"Comical oxymoron" 304:cum tacent clamant 156:Types and examples 69:self-contradiction 43: 1591: 1590: 1362:Hysteron proteron 1244:Figures of speech 886:as attributed to 662:(in the voice of 623:The phrase is an 595:: oxymora verba, 361:opinion oxymorons 357:pessimist outlook 312: 190:hysteron proteron 73:rhetorical device 16:(Redirected from 1641: 1237: 1230: 1223: 1214: 1204: 1171: 1164: 1158: 1151: 1145: 1130:Alison Mackinnon 1126: 1120: 1113: 1107: 1101: 1099: 1097: 1081: 1079: 1077: 1064: 1058: 1057:(1999), p. 126. 1047: 1041: 1012: 1006: 995: 989: 981: 975: 967: 961: 953: 947: 939: 933: 917: 911: 876: 870: 869: 865:Romeo and Juliet 856: 850: 827: 821: 805: 794: 793: 791: 789: 773: 767: 756: 755: 749: 743: 732: 731: 725: 719: 696: 695: 689: 683: 650: 644: 636: 630: 629: 608: 602: 601: 589: 587: 575: 534:Meinong's jungle 518: 513: 512: 476:Sanskrit grammar 389: 371:J. R. R. Tolkien 340:Quarterly Review 307: 233:Romeo and Juliet 150: 144: 143: 130: 123: 122: 116: 110: 109: 95: 61:figure of speech 34:Figure of speech 21: 1649: 1648: 1644: 1643: 1642: 1640: 1639: 1638: 1594: 1593: 1592: 1587: 1541:Personification 1406: 1246: 1241: 1211: 1193:10.2307/1773004 1178: 1175: 1174: 1165: 1161: 1152: 1148: 1138:King Richard II 1127: 1123: 1114: 1110: 1095: 1093: 1082: 1075: 1073: 1068: 1065: 1061: 1048: 1044: 1013: 1009: 996: 992: 982: 978: 968: 964: 954: 950: 940: 936: 918: 914: 906:vol. 5, 1894), 877: 873: 858: 857: 853: 839:Richard Lederer 828: 824: 808:Richard Lederer 806: 797: 787: 785: 775: 774: 770: 750: 746: 726: 722: 690: 686: 651: 647: 637: 633: 610: 609: 605: 585: 583: 577: 576: 572: 567: 514: 507: 504: 464:great and small 456: 450: 442:Microsoft Works 428:business ethics 401: 365:business ethics 259: 256: 254: 252: 250: 248: 246: 199:head over heels 158: 35: 32: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1647: 1645: 1637: 1636: 1631: 1626: 1621: 1616: 1611: 1606: 1596: 1595: 1589: 1588: 1586: 1585: 1580: 1575: 1570: 1565: 1564: 1563: 1553: 1548: 1543: 1538: 1533: 1528: 1523: 1518: 1517: 1516: 1511: 1501: 1496: 1495: 1494: 1484: 1479: 1478: 1477: 1467: 1462: 1457: 1452: 1447: 1442: 1437: 1432: 1427: 1422: 1416: 1414: 1408: 1407: 1405: 1404: 1399: 1394: 1389: 1384: 1379: 1374: 1369: 1364: 1359: 1354: 1349: 1344: 1339: 1334: 1329: 1324: 1319: 1314: 1313: 1312: 1302: 1297: 1292: 1287: 1282: 1277: 1272: 1267: 1262: 1256: 1254: 1248: 1247: 1242: 1240: 1239: 1232: 1225: 1217: 1210: 1209:External links 1207: 1206: 1205: 1187:(1): 105–122. 1173: 1172: 1159: 1146: 1121: 1108: 1059: 1042: 1040:(1994), p. 99. 1007: 990: 976: 962: 948: 934: 912: 871: 851: 822: 795: 768: 744: 720: 684: 645: 631: 603: 569: 568: 566: 563: 562: 561: 556: 551: 546: 541: 536: 531: 526: 520: 519: 503: 500: 449: 446: 432:anti-corporate 400: 397: 377:equivalent of 345: 344: 266:, translating 243: 163:dead metaphors 157: 154: 33: 24: 14: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1646: 1635: 1632: 1630: 1627: 1625: 1622: 1620: 1617: 1615: 1612: 1610: 1607: 1605: 1602: 1601: 1599: 1584: 1581: 1579: 1576: 1574: 1571: 1569: 1566: 1562: 1559: 1558: 1557: 1554: 1552: 1551:Procatalepsis 1549: 1547: 1544: 1542: 1539: 1537: 1534: 1532: 1529: 1527: 1524: 1522: 1519: 1515: 1512: 1510: 1507: 1506: 1505: 1502: 1500: 1497: 1493: 1490: 1489: 1488: 1485: 1483: 1480: 1476: 1473: 1472: 1471: 1468: 1466: 1463: 1461: 1458: 1456: 1453: 1451: 1448: 1446: 1443: 1441: 1438: 1436: 1433: 1431: 1428: 1426: 1423: 1421: 1418: 1417: 1415: 1413: 1409: 1403: 1400: 1398: 1395: 1393: 1390: 1388: 1385: 1383: 1380: 1378: 1375: 1373: 1370: 1368: 1365: 1363: 1360: 1358: 1355: 1353: 1350: 1348: 1347:Homeoteleuton 1345: 1343: 1340: 1338: 1335: 1333: 1330: 1328: 1325: 1323: 1320: 1318: 1315: 1311: 1308: 1307: 1306: 1303: 1301: 1298: 1296: 1293: 1291: 1288: 1286: 1283: 1281: 1278: 1276: 1273: 1271: 1268: 1266: 1263: 1261: 1258: 1257: 1255: 1253: 1249: 1245: 1238: 1233: 1231: 1226: 1224: 1219: 1218: 1215: 1208: 1202: 1198: 1194: 1190: 1186: 1182: 1181:Poetics Today 1177: 1176: 1169: 1163: 1160: 1156: 1150: 1147: 1143: 1139: 1135: 1131: 1125: 1122: 1118: 1112: 1109: 1105: 1092:. 1 July 2009 1091: 1090: 1085: 1071: 1063: 1060: 1056: 1052: 1046: 1043: 1039: 1036:. 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Retrieved 573: 524:Auto-antonym 495: 489: 483: 480:yin and yang 467: 457: 439: 436: 421: 402: 392: 382: 378: 369: 349:Epicureanism 346: 338: 331: 267: 261: 244: 231: 213: 206: 188: 182: 176: 170: 166: 159: 145: 132: 126: 111: 90: 86: 84: 80: 56: 52: 48: 46: 44: 1450:Catachresis 1435:Antonomasia 1430:Antiphrasis 1372:Parallelism 1322:Epanalepsis 1285:Aposiopesis 1265:Anadiplosis 788:26 February 625:'ὀξύμωρον' 434:position). 413:Garry Wills 363:" such as " 323:Henry James 228:Shakespeare 205:" etc.) or 195:upside-down 137:autological 1598:Categories 1578:Synecdoche 1482:Dysphemism 1455:Ecphonesis 1445:Apostrophe 1387:Spoonerism 1377:Polyptoton 1357:Hyperbaton 1332:Epistrophe 1317:Consonance 1280:Antithesis 1030:Rastenburg 777:"oxymoron" 586:27 October 565:References 491:fortepiano 485:pianoforte 444:" (2000). 375:Low German 353:equanimity 294:, echoing 280:John Donne 208:sopho-more 65:juxtaposes 51:(plurals: 1634:Ambiguity 1629:Word play 1624:Semantics 1609:Paradoxes 1583:Tautology 1509:Apophasis 1487:Euphemism 1470:Hyperbole 1460:Ekphrasis 1352:Hypallage 1342:Hendiadys 1337:Epizeuxis 1327:Epiphrase 1295:Asyndeton 1290:Assonance 1024:(2007), 758: in 734: in 698: in 676:FS Werner 393:oxy-moron 386:toll-kühn 379:dull-keen 327:Hemingway 216:adjective 148:oksýmōron 85:The term 53:oxymorons 1546:Pleonasm 1536:Oxymoron 1531:Metonymy 1526:Metaphor 1499:Innuendo 1475:Adynaton 1440:Aphorism 1425:Allusion 1420:Allegory 1392:Symploce 1367:Isocolon 1300:Chiasmus 1270:Anaphora 1157:, 1993). 1132:(eds.), 1096:27 March 1076:27 March 1001:(1983), 946:, (1624) 928:(2009), 845:(2012), 754:ὀξύμωρος 672:oxymorum 502:See also 472:dvandvas 415:accused 319:Tennyson 236:, where 179:compound 142:ὀξύμωρον 133:oxymoron 93:oxymōrum 87:oxymoron 49:oxymoron 1614:Phrases 1521:Litotes 1514:Sarcasm 1492:Meiosis 1252:Schemes 1201:1773004 898:(ed.), 760:Liddell 736:Liddell 706:(1940) 658:7.295, 539:Paradox 454:Antonym 405:lexicon 311:  292:Thomson 272:Spenser 264:Chaucer 224:meaning 77:paradox 71:. As a 59:) is a 57:oxymora 1604:Humour 1573:Simile 1412:Tropes 1402:Zeugma 1397:Tmesis 1305:Climax 1199:  1003:p. 169 988:(1888) 960:(1734) 930:p. 267 908:p. 321 847:p. 107 680:p. 143 655:Aeneid 296:Cicero 276:Milton 1504:Irony 1197:JSTOR 1026:p. 53 764:Scott 740:Scott 730:μωρός 315:Byron 300:Latin 238:Romeo 171:Noyes 127:mōros 121:μωρός 114:oksús 105:word 103:Greek 97:, in 63:that 1310:Anti 1098:2012 1078:2012 1051:Time 894:). 790:2013 762:and 738:and 694:ὀξύς 664:Juno 588:2015 462:", " 309:lit. 288:Pope 282:), " 220:noun 201:", " 197:", " 167:nook 108:ὀξύς 55:and 1556:Pun 1189:doi 1104:OED 837:." 641:OED 615:". 488:or 468:and 367:". 351:is 329:). 298:'s 286:" ( 230:'s 193:, " 135:is 47:An 1600:: 1195:. 1183:. 1086:. 1032:, 841:, 798:^ 779:. 702:; 590:. 395:. 306:, 302:: 1236:e 1229:t 1222:v 1203:. 1191:: 1185:8 1119:. 1100:. 1080:. 1005:. 932:. 910:. 902:( 868:. 849:. 820:. 792:. 682:. 218:– 161:" 31:. 20:)

Index

Contradictio in terminis
Oxymoron (disambiguation)

figure of speech
juxtaposes
self-contradiction
rhetorical device
paradox
Maurus Servius Honoratus
Greek
autological
dead metaphors
compound
pre-posterous
hysteron proteron
upside-down
head over heels
ass-backwards
sopho-more
adjective
noun
meaning
Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo
Chaucer
Spenser
Milton
John Donne
damn with faint praise

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