SmithWriting Blog

According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, an oxymoron is “a figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory ideas or terms are combined.” The word comes from the Greek oxys (“sharp”) + moros (“stupid”), so “oxymoron” itself is an oxymoron (those clever Greeks).

There are hundreds of oxymora (yes, the plural of oxymoron is oxymora), ranging from the lyrical to the literal. And whenever I encounter one of these fascinating phrases in literature, advertising, or everyday language, I always pause and smile to myself in wonder.

Here’s a short list of my favorite oxymora:

Accidentally on Purpose (TV show)
controlled chaos
cruel kindness
deafening silence
freezer burn
good grief
industrial park
jumbo shrimp
live recording
Microsoft Works (office suite)
mournful optimist
pretty ugly
Quiet Riot (band)
same difference
SweeTarts (candy)
sweet sorrow (“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet)
True Lies (movie)

Have any you’d like to share? What’s your least favorite?

Filed by rebecca at 7:07 pm under For the love of words
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In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve compiled a list of English words with Irish roots. Because, although we’re not all lucky enough to be Irish, we should at least be grateful for the culture’s colorful contributions to our vocabulary:

banshee (n.) – In Irish folklore, a female spirit believed to presage, by wailing, a death in a family
1771, from Irish bean (“woman”) sídhe (“fairy”)

donnybrook (n.) – a rowdy brawl; a free-for-all
1852, from Donnybrook Fair, held annually in Donnybrook in County Dublin until 1855 and noted for its brawls

leprechaun (n.) – In Irish folklore, a fairy in the form of a little old man who can reveal a buried crock of gold to anyone who catches him
1604, from Irish leipreachán, form of lu (“small”) + chorpan (“body”)
An alternative source is leath (“half”) bhrógan (“shoer”), as the leprechaun is said to be a shoemaker by profession

shamrock (n.) – any of certain cloverlike plants with leaflets in groups of three; used as the emblem of Ireland
1571, from Irish seamróg, diminutive of seamar, meaning “clover”

smithereens (pl. n.) – small fragments or broken pieces; bits
1829, from Irish smidirin, diminutive of smiodar, meaning “little pieces”

whiskey (n.) - a liquor distilled from fermented mash of grain
1715, a shortened form of usquebaugh, from Irish uisce (“water”) beathadh (“of life”)

sources: Webster’s New World College Dictionary, thefreedictionary.com, Online Etymology Dictionary

Filed by rebecca at 7:25 am under For the love of words
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