WOW Word-Of-the-Week #431: Oxymoron
November 7, 2012 by Susan Clarke
Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which contradictory or opposite words or concepts are combined for effect.
My long time friend and subscriber Joe is responsible for this week’s WOW. This was his response to my WOW #415 on Debauchery when I commented on the behavior of the people at the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.
Joe wrote, “I think civilized debauchery is an oxymoron.” That made me think of all of the common oxymoron’s. For example: Jumbo Shrimp – Active Retirement – Freezer Burn – Half Empty – New Used Cars – Non-Dairy Creamer – Oven Fried – Plastic Silverware – Rubber Cement – Vanilla Fudge – Pretty Ugly – and one of my all time favorites – Planned Spontaneity!
Then I found a UT article titled “Two-headed headlines can make you dizzy,” by Richard Lederer. I thought they fell into the oxymoron category too. What do you think?
MAN STRUCK BY LIGHTING NEW BAR EXAM TO INCLUDE
FACES BATTERY CHARGE TEST OF LEGAL SKILLS
NEW STUDY OF OBESITY HALF OF ALL CHILDREN TESTED
LOOKS FOR LARGER TEST GROUP SCORE BELOW AVERAGE
MAN MINUS EAR WAIVES HEARING MISSOURI GAS CHAMBER IS UNSAFE
INCLUDE YOUR CHILDREN OLD SCHOOL PILLARS
WHEN BAKING COOKIES ARE REPLACED BY ALUMNI
This week’s focus is nice and light! Did you crack up when you read the headlines? Did you know there is a website that lists over 2500 oxymorons? What is your favorite oxymoron?
Reader Responses
“My favorite oxymoron is the title of a Leon Uris photo book “Terrible Beauty,” which describes the country of Northern Ireland during the “troubles” back in the late 1960s through the late 1980s. I will never forget that. Also, l loved the headlines. When people are on deadline it is usually the first thing that comes to mind for a headline, and many times they turn out to be extremely funny. During the times I worked for newspapers, I was always careful about writing the headlines. Fortunately, I never penned one of the embarrassing headlines. Those can really put egg on the face of an editor.” – “Warrior” Joe