The Little Tome Of Oxymorons (completely Abridged)
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- Pages: 198
The Little Tome of
OXYMORONS (completely abridged)
by
Ronan Higgins
The Little Tome of Oxymorons © 2001. Ronan Higgins. All Rights Reserved. Images used in this document do not have clearance for publication. Do not reproduce. Images are delivered in low resolution. High-resolution versions are available upon request and with owner’s permission.
2
Introduction When I was growing up, conversations concerning word-puns, oxymorons and tautologies would come up regularly at the dinner table. My stepmother would never hesitate to reach for the dictionary, thesaurus or FrenchEnglish dictionary to prove her point. As a last resort my father would be sent scurrying out to the hall, where we kept the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica, to return with the weighty tomes. This collection of oxymorons is devoted to their passion. In collecting the oxymorons that follow I have been quite liberal with the definition of what an oxymoron actually is. Webster’s Dictionary states: Oxymoron \Ox`y*mo"ron\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ???, fr. ??? pointedly foolish; ??? sharp + ??? foolish.] (Rhet.) A figure in which an epithet of a contrary signification is added to a word; e. g., cruel kindness; laborious idleness.
I have extended the definition to include three more word forms. 1. Word combinations that are not necessarily contrary to each other in a literal sense, but contrary in a humorous sense. For example “military intelligence”. The humor, of course, is subjective, and relies heavily on your cultural reference point. In this example you might not see the oxymoron if you were in the military and believed that the military could be intelligent. I have focused on oxymorons that might be humorous to North Americans. 2. Single words that contain contrary phrases internally. For example “bittersweet” 3. Single words that contain contrary phrases internally, but in a humorous sense more than a literal sense. For example “freeway”, where freeways are known to have so much traffic that they rarely run free. The collection is not exhaustive. I had many more submissions, however I tried to focus on those with the greatest level of irony. During my research to compile this collection I also came across a large number of images that would give increased pun to the irony already being delivered by the oxymoron. I decided to include those images with this collection. Initially I felt that the images (which tell a thousand words!) might take away from the text, however I feel now that they compliment each other well. If you have any good oxymorons that you would like to submit for inclusion in the next edition of this collection please email them to [email protected]. Look out for the next work in this series, “The Big Tome of Tautologies”.
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Page: 31
Cherokee Pioneer: automobile by Jeep.
61
Fast: to not eat food.
99
Ham: ham radio enthusiast.
118
Metal wood: a golf club.
149
Popular Mechanics is a print magazine – not Mike and the Mechanics.
162
Renegade lawmakers: from CNN coverage of a battle in Moscow.
170
Scheduled Spontaneity: from a Franklin time management class.
192
Saltines: crackers.
198
OXYMORONS (completely abridged)
by
Ronan Higgins
The Little Tome of Oxymorons © 2001. Ronan Higgins. All Rights Reserved. Images used in this document do not have clearance for publication. Do not reproduce. Images are delivered in low resolution. High-resolution versions are available upon request and with owner’s permission.
2
Introduction When I was growing up, conversations concerning word-puns, oxymorons and tautologies would come up regularly at the dinner table. My stepmother would never hesitate to reach for the dictionary, thesaurus or FrenchEnglish dictionary to prove her point. As a last resort my father would be sent scurrying out to the hall, where we kept the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica, to return with the weighty tomes. This collection of oxymorons is devoted to their passion. In collecting the oxymorons that follow I have been quite liberal with the definition of what an oxymoron actually is. Webster’s Dictionary states: Oxymoron \Ox`y*mo"ron\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ???, fr. ??? pointedly foolish; ??? sharp + ??? foolish.] (Rhet.) A figure in which an epithet of a contrary signification is added to a word; e. g., cruel kindness; laborious idleness.
I have extended the definition to include three more word forms. 1. Word combinations that are not necessarily contrary to each other in a literal sense, but contrary in a humorous sense. For example “military intelligence”. The humor, of course, is subjective, and relies heavily on your cultural reference point. In this example you might not see the oxymoron if you were in the military and believed that the military could be intelligent. I have focused on oxymorons that might be humorous to North Americans. 2. Single words that contain contrary phrases internally. For example “bittersweet” 3. Single words that contain contrary phrases internally, but in a humorous sense more than a literal sense. For example “freeway”, where freeways are known to have so much traffic that they rarely run free. The collection is not exhaustive. I had many more submissions, however I tried to focus on those with the greatest level of irony. During my research to compile this collection I also came across a large number of images that would give increased pun to the irony already being delivered by the oxymoron. I decided to include those images with this collection. Initially I felt that the images (which tell a thousand words!) might take away from the text, however I feel now that they compliment each other well. If you have any good oxymorons that you would like to submit for inclusion in the next edition of this collection please email them to [email protected]. Look out for the next work in this series, “The Big Tome of Tautologies”.
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177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
Page: 31
Cherokee Pioneer: automobile by Jeep.
61
Fast: to not eat food.
99
Ham: ham radio enthusiast.
118
Metal wood: a golf club.
149
Popular Mechanics is a print magazine – not Mike and the Mechanics.
162
Renegade lawmakers: from CNN coverage of a battle in Moscow.
170
Scheduled Spontaneity: from a Franklin time management class.
192
Saltines: crackers.
198
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