Which of the following sentences are examples of irony and which ones are not

I would never make such a silly mistake.
Thanks for picking today of all days to get stuck for 26 minutes.
Has the new supervisor come around yet.
I would never make such a silly mistake.

1 answer

Let's analyze each sentence for elements of irony:

  1. I would never make such a silly mistake. - This could be considered irony if the speaker has previously made a silly mistake or is about to make one. Without more context, it's difficult to definitively categorize it as ironic.

  2. Thanks for picking today of all days to get stuck for 26 minutes. - This sentence is likely an example of irony. It implies frustration or sarcasm, suggesting that the speaker is disappointed that this inconvenience happened on a particularly bad or busy day.

  3. Has the new supervisor come around yet. - This sentence does not contain irony. It is simply a straightforward question without any implied contradiction or unexpected outcome.

  4. I would never make such a silly mistake. - This is a repeat of the first sentence and can be analyzed in the same way; it could be considered ironic depending on the surrounding context.

In summary:

  • Sentences that could be ironic: 1 (context-dependent), 2
  • Sentence that is not ironic: 3
  • Sentence that could be ironic again: 4 (context-dependent)