Irony, that state of affairs that is deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing, seems to be in overabundance these days. Wherever you look, an ironic slant is almost too easy to ...

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 ...

In fairness to Alanis, pop singers and Canadians aren’t the only ones who struggle to understand irony. There’s an entire line of cognitive research dedicated to understanding the concept (as well as ...

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 ...

Humorist Brian Unger looks at how comedy has changed and evolved in the five years since the Sept. 11 attacks. Ironically, predictions of the end to the "age of irony" never materialized. Irony, it ...

On September 18, 2001, Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, declared, “I think it’s the end of the age of irony.” He was trashed for the sentiment. Only a month after the event, Michiko Kakutani ...