Oxymorons

Subject: Oxymorons
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 16 Apr 02 - 11:26 PM

Now that the "Eternal Questions" thread seems to be close to unraveling let's try a new one -- oxymorons.

I'll start by getting jumbo shrimp and military intelligence out of the way.

Ther is one which I wanted to mention that even George Carlin forgot -- civil war. Is there anything we do that requires less civility?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Amos
Date: 16 Apr 02 - 11:42 PM

My widely distributed software development team has been handed a new one by its highermanagement, a thinly disguised effort to justify continuous coping and not doing an orderly and methodical job of development according to best practices. it's called "Just-In-Time Engineering". It's not only an insult to "just-in-time" supply chain management, which can be a reasonable practice, but it is also an insult to good engineers!

A

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 16 Apr 02 - 11:47 PM

Honest politicians.

Music critics.

Pete

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Anahootz
Date: 16 Apr 02 - 11:52 PM

"live recording"

"virtual reality"

two of my faves

oh yeah, and..."airline food"

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Troll
Date: 16 Apr 02 - 11:58 PM

"rap music"

troll

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wincing Devil
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 12:32 AM

• Congressional Ethics
• Advanced BASIC
• guest host
• home office
• normal deviation
• randomly organized
• resident alien
• unbiased opinion

And last but not least

Tame cat!

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Sorcha
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 01:00 AM

Shrimp Scampi
Non Working Mom
Fixed Pitch Instrument
(I know I'll think of more.........)

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,jonm
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 03:16 AM

What about...

Microsoft Works

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: MudGuard
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 03:20 AM

liquid gas
keeping animals in their natural

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 03:44 AM

Mature student
Bitter sweet
Quiet music
Military Intelligence
Cruel kindness
Black light

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Trevor
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 04:21 AM

Permanent travellers' site Child psychologist Given freedom

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wolfgang
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 04:35 AM

"I write folksongs"
for some of the posters here the following is a single word oxymoron: Psychology

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Hrothgar
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 04:40 AM

Intelligent drummer.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 04:43 AM

Artificial Fur
Genuine reproduction
Unique example

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 04:53 AM

Friendly fire. (though that may be unfair, it might be military black humour, irony or euphemism rather than oxymoron. It could be we need a "what do we mean by oxymoron" thread)

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 05:10 AM

Main Entry: ox.y.mo.ron Pronunciation: "äk-si-'mOr-"än, -'mor- Function: noun Etymology: Late Greek oxymOron, from neuter of oxymOros pointedly foolish, from Greek oxys sharp, keen + mOros foolish Date: 1657 Inflected Form(s): plural ox.y.mo.ra /-'mOr-&, -'mor-/ : a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness) - ox.y.mo.ron.ic /-m&-'r@-nik, -mo-/ adjective - ox.y.mo.ron.i.cal.ly /-ni-k(&-)lE/ adverb

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 05:11 AM

From the dictionary definition I posted above, should the thread title be "Oxymora" ?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: MudGuard
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 05:20 AM

got another one:
tasty haggis
(is that Scottish stuff spelled this way?)

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 05:25 AM

Thanks for clarification Nigel. My point is: what is "friendly fire"? Is it oxymoron (combination of contradictory or incongruous words); irony (intended meaning is the opposite of that of the words used); or euphemism (substitution of mild or innocuous wordfor more harsh or offensive term)? Or some combination of all three?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: bill\sables
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 06:11 AM

McDonalds Restaurant

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 06:51 AM

Greg: I think for once (maybe I should rephrase that clause!).

On this occasion I believe (that's better) the British Politicians have exactly the apposite phrase! "Friendly Fire" comes under the heading of "Weasel Words" (a form of euphamism used by politicians deliberately to mislead, or to evade the point)

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 07:13 AM

Amos -- I agree

Wincing Devil -- applause for "Tame Cat"

Nigel Parsons -- plural noted. I'll know next time.

GUEST,jonm -- YES!!!!!

Greg Stephens -- I suspect that "friendly fire" probably started its life as a eupemism created by those in command and, as frequently happens when leaders are being espcially silly, was turned into ironic humor by those being commanded.

Stephen

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 07:28 AM

This might be a thread where i could find the answer to a question that has often come up: is it true that Americans don't use, and therefore don't understand, ironic humour? It is popularly supposed that if you say to an American "Brutus is an honourable man" or "Streets of London is a wonderful and very moving song" they will take the comment to be a statement of your opinion. Can anyone help?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Amos
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 08:56 AM

Friendly fire means rounds of ammo INADVERTENTLY being directed at you by those on your side or an allied side. It is not a euphemism, and it is not contradictory, but it does sound like a combination of incongruous words, which therefore qualifies it as an oxymorin anyway.

A

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: greg stephens
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 09:05 AM

I disagree amos.it is contradictory, because "friendly" has connotations quite the reverse ofthe feelings you get from a bullet up your jacksie. And it is a euphemism I think, because it was a circumlocution by PR people who didnt like saying "we've bombed our boys by mistake". And is certainly ironic, if the phrase is used byits recipients. So all in all i think it qualifies as all three figures of speech and gets some sort of prize.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Guessed
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 09:12 AM

MudGuard isn't liquid gas sublime (***B tech G ****)
greg stevens - are you ernest or ironest?

can I offer
Manage Meant?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Rich_and_Dee
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 09:18 AM

Oxymoron: Gourmet buffet

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Pseudolus
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 09:34 AM

I thought an oxymoron was someone who didn't know how to use those acne pads (oxy pads)....

And to appease the folks who think all conversations here should be about music, my oxymoron contribution is.....MUSIC THREAD!

Frank

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 09:35 AM

Oldest oxymoron I know is glykypikron = "bitter-sweet", as said of love by the poetress Sappho about the beginning of the 6th century B.C.

A fine translation by J. Addington Symonds, 1883:
Lo, Love once more, the limb-dissolving King,
The bitter-sweet impracticable thing,
Wild-beast-like rends me with fierce quivering.

In friendly fire I can see no oxymoron; friendly here only designates an origin and no intention. In the tis man's Army it is well known that artillerists don't distinguish between friend or foe; the bloody bangheads only know interesting targets. A long range hit at a friendly officers latrine they consider as a ballistic masterpiece, too.

Not so funny is the intelligent drummer. I only agree if you except me personally.

And now to Greg: There are certain hints at the use of ironic humour in the U.S. of A. Even the British Library shows six entries of this excellent and entertaining work:
Title: Confederacy of Dunces
Author: Toole. John Kennedy
Publisher Name: Louisiana State Univ Pr.
Date of Publication: 1980
ISBN: 0807106577
Shelfmark: 81/6110.
Status: missing
Note the status: It must be considered so good that it was not brought back by a customer.

Wilfried

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 09:57 AM

While we're on books "The quiet American"? DARFC

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Guessed
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 10:04 AM

American Irony?
never the Twain?
AND what about Ambrose Bierce? What was his take on irony? I have the whole text from the Guttenberg Project - I will go see.
I wish I could remember their URL but it won't be hard to find.
methinks a can of worms is wriggling free here. "Ire ON" - folks.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: artbrooks
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 11:01 AM

As a former field artilleryman, I can comment on "friendly fire" from a different perspective. It wasn't invented by a PR flac, rather its a technical (well, not very) term that's been around at least since WWII. It refers to artillery rounds (shells, if you prefer) fired ("fire") by our side ("friendly")that hit something other than the intended target. This can be because of mislocation of the target or of the guns, changing weather conditions, mathmatical error, or because either the good guys weren't where they were supposed to be or the artillery didn't know where they were.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Greg F. (remote computer)
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 11:31 AM

Creation science.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: kendall
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 12:15 PM

A good Rose'
attractive linoleum
Legally drunk
Reagan's memoirs
Compassionate conservative
Cherry Tart.
Rush hour

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: wysiwyg
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 12:19 PM

Agitating for peace.

~S~

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Dagenham Doc
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 05:18 PM

I love rush hour!!

How about stiff upper lip

Doc.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: 8_Pints
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 06:16 PM

How about:

"Industrial action" "Pretty awful" "Management perspective"

Bob vG

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 06:45 PM

I have to disagree that bitter-sweet is an oxymoron.

"Bitter" and "Sweet" are NOT opposites, but the names of a couple of the battery of taste sensations that make up flavor. Something CAN be both bitter and sweet, and maybe sour or salty, etc., at the same time.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: kendall
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 07:11 PM

Government assistance

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Jane 2001
Date: 17 Apr 02 - 07:30 PM

Re Americans and irony. I have occasionally noticed that on mudcat where someone has expressed an opinion which is so extreme it must be the opposite of what they actually think and our cousins get terribly upset about it. I think we Brits use irony rather a lot, making a point by taking things to their ultimate ridiculous extreme. I think it is a peculiarly British (English?) form of rhetoric. The continentals don't seem to understand it either and dispise the speaker accordingly.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Snuffy
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 09:24 AM

You're right, Jane. Over here "absolutely marvellous" would be a highly damning verdict, whereas "not totally unpleasant" could be high praise indeed.

WassaiL! V

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: JedMarum
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 09:43 AM

christian right

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: JedMarum
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 09:44 AM

I like wolfgang's: folksong writer

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: JedMarum
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 09:48 AM

celibate priest

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,greg stephens
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 09:56 AM

yes, i did raise the irony point in all seriousness, it is one of the main souces of incomprehension(and possible anger) in the trans-atlantic conversations we have here. Other examples of incomprehension occur on this thread: I'm sure any british or irish reader reading my posting of "friendly fire" would understand that I knew what friendly fire is, and was discussing the oddness of the juxtaposition of the two words. But two or three posters, who i would guess were american, assumed that I was trying to find out what the words meant and explained them (very slowly and carefully)."Two countries separated by a common language"..who said that?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Hamish
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 10:12 AM

Detailed summary and/or in-depth overview

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 11:41 AM

Hi Guessed,
Project Gutenberg is written with only one "t".
The German home page was transferred some days ago, URL is now http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/ No Ambrose Bierce here.
But he can be found on the English URL http://promo.net/pg/

Hi Uncle DaveO I may assure you that Sappho when she wrote her poem did not know the Chinese sweet-sour sauces, and bitter and sweet for one and the same thing were supposed contraries, not parts of a range. Otherwise the word oxymoron = sharp witted-dull would be no oxymoron itself, only a part of the wide range of human intellect.

Wilfried

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 11:44 AM

Athletic scholarship
freezer burn
briefing
holy war

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Pete
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 11:54 AM

Guesstimate?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 11:58 AM

Bodhran Music

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wolfgang
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 12:36 PM

the 'only choice'
found missing
idiot savant
dicorce court (ouch)
science fiction
and to end on a musical note:
soft rock
Young Tradition

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 01:06 PM

Sailboat racing
Behavioral science
Business ethics

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: michaelr
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 08:15 PM

Industrial park!

In order to determine whetherv a statement is meant ironically or seriously (if it's not OBVIOUSLY one or the other), one must have at least some knowledge of the speaker. That can be difficult when chatting on the web with people in other hemispheres.
(Sweeping Generalization Alert:) I think that Americans tend to assume that people mean what they say, unless clued otherwise, while British folks (more skeptical, I guess) assume everyone is "taking a piss".

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: kendall
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 08:20 PM

Some of those sailboats, especially the catamarans will really haul ass.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: DonD
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 09:18 PM

Asm an elderly gebtleman with an enlarged prostate, may I ask -- isn't the expression, "taking the piss"?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 18 Apr 02 - 11:58 PM

I've heard the "divided by a common language" line attributed to George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. Take your pick.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,DrWord
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 01:35 AM

First Annual
This one is good ...

DrWord@public terminal

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Trevor
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 04:32 AM

How about 'going round the square'?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Joe in the'pool
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 05:02 AM

'Don't Fire' could this now be interpreted as an oxymoron when heard by American Airforce pilots, when sighting 'Friendly' Canadians (is this another one!)

No offence meant to Canadians a very friendly bunch of people..

Joe

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 05:36 AM

Definite probability
Full vacuum cleaner
Opaque window
(of Australia) Island Continent
Open secret

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Banjer
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 05:52 AM

Having read through this thread I am dismayed and saddened that NO ONE has yet listed one of the most obvious music related oxymnorons:

Banjo Tuning

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 08:02 AM

I wonder if "friendly fire" might owe anything to John Betjeman:

"Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now..."

And he wasn't exactly being ironic, possibly a bit tongue in cheek, since he didn't actually want the bombs dropped on the place, just wished people would wake up to what they had created, and pull it down and make it better.

Nobody has mentioned "British Justice" which has very often been classed as an oxymoron.

And I think alongside Sorchas's "Non Working Mom" I might put "Women's Liberation."

Or there's Morris Dancing...

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: SharonA
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 10:11 AM

Wise ass
'NSYNC concert
Voice mail

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Amos
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 10:51 AM

Friendly fire is only apparently oxymoronic, when mis-parsed; the adjective "friendly" has a different meaning (side of origin) than the common one (show of affection or alliance).

Obviously in the second sense NO fire is friendly.

A

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 11:03 AM

Well, if you were being strictly logical, I suppose you could say that fire directed on the enemy when you were under attack could well be described as friendly.

I don't think a phrase can be "apparently oxymoronic" - the appearance is surely what counts in this kind of phrase.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Amos
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 11:18 AM

Oh, okay, McGrath -- pardon my arrant pedantry, up with which I will now put where the sun don't shine!! :>))

A

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Nerd
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 02:16 PM

I think there's plenty of irony in the USA. But then I grew up in New York City, so my experience may not be typical. I do think that people in North America have no very clear idea of what irony is. For example, Alanis Morrisette's song "isn't it ironic?" in fact provides examples of coincidence, not irony.

Oxymora:

Government worker (or government job) working holiday Home Depot High school senior sophomoric humor

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: DMcG
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 02:22 PM

There is a nursery rhyme that I can't quite remember which includes the directions

Straight down the crooked road
And all round the square.

(We start 'em young on oxymrons here)

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Hrothgar
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 06:42 PM

Boxing ring.

Literate journalist.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: van lingle
Date: 19 Apr 02 - 07:10 PM

This thread is awful good.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 20 Apr 02 - 06:28 AM

some of those posting here are "pretty ugly"

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,emily b
Date: 20 Apr 02 - 08:22 AM

Diversified Specialists! This is actually the name of a business here. Emily

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: van lingle
Date: 20 Apr 02 - 08:35 AM

No offense, Nigel but your assessment seems fairly unjust. *g*

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Apr 02 - 12:35 PM

New and Improved!

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 20 Apr 02 - 04:10 PM

Modern History

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 20 Apr 02 - 04:36 PM

clean dirt english cuisine american justice republican party

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: van lingle
Date: 20 Apr 02 - 08:04 PM

"President Bush"

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Chris
Date: 21 Apr 02 - 08:27 AM

Um--casual sex?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Nigel Parsons
Date: 21 Apr 02 - 01:16 PM

Guest,Chris: is that on oxymoron or an offer ?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Peter from Essex
Date: 21 Apr 02 - 04:15 PM

A friend of mine walked into the wrong room at a venue and really did find himself in the AGM of an anarchist organisation.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 21 Apr 02 - 10:52 PM

GUEST,Peter from Essex -- Now, THAT'S an oxymoron!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: mousethief
Date: 12 Jun 02 - 05:26 PM

Coincidences can't be ironic?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Slickerbill
Date: 12 Jun 02 - 05:38 PM

"Guest Host", "raised to the ground"

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: mousethief
Date: 12 Jun 02 - 05:49 PM

free love
secular saint
loyal opposition
ice cream
compassionate conservatism
worldly innocence
good beer
ovo-lacto-vegetarian
self-righteous
sweet wine
monetary consideration
guilt complex
plastic glass
standard exemption
total partiality
steel wool
cotton wool
sophomore
preexisting
antebellum
fat-free sour cream
dairy-free creamer
positive feedback

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Big John
Date: 12 Jun 02 - 09:40 PM

The author of this thread has pulled the wool across my eyes/ By using clever diction writing words of such a size/ In Ireland we have oxen and morons by the score/ But to breed an oxymoron it was never done before.// Is this some sort of Mudcat crossbred from a horse and cow/ Or a mule with horns and udder, will someone tell me now?/ Or some such other animal defying Nature's laws/ Or just a contradiction in a verbal sort of clause?// Jeez, I'd love to be as clever as these educated Yanks /Then I'd fill this space with double meaning words and leave no blanks/ But I'm going to have to finish with all this stupid talk/ It's time to take my little oxymoron for a walk.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wincing Devil
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 01:59 PM

Raised to the ground should be spelled "razed" as in what some men do to their face in the morning.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Chicken Charlie
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 04:42 PM

Accordion music Bible scholar [IMO, of course]

Homeless shelter turtle race

CC

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: tremodt
Date: 13 Jun 02 - 11:06 PM

Park way

drive way

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 06:49 AM

Definitive version?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Sir Roger de Beverley
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 10:55 AM

One I came across recently that only I thought fitted the definition was "highly intelligent fell runner"

R

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: mousethief
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 12:00 PM

That's just silly, Chicken Charlie. One needn't believe something is true to acknowledge that people study it in a scholarly way. I don't believe in the Roman pantheon, but I acknowledge that there are scholars in Roman Mythology.

Alex

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 14 Jun 02 - 02:41 PM

English summer.

Pete

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Dead Horse
Date: 15 Jun 02 - 02:00 AM

Re baseball - World Series
Shanty Singer
Open Prison
Vacant Expression
Smart Bomb (unless it explodes and makes you sting slightly) ....(on my starting blocks and ready to run for cover)...Ladies Morris

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: brid widder
Date: 15 Jun 02 - 07:41 AM

happily married!

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Shields Folk
Date: 15 Jun 02 - 08:22 AM

stupid woman!

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Shields Folk
Date: 15 Jun 02 - 08:23 AM

no sorry, thats a double negative!

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wincing Devil
Date: 17 Jun 02 - 04:52 PM

Best Oxymoron So Far!:

Religious Technology

Lawdie! Save us from Helena Korbin!

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Big John
Date: 17 Jun 02 - 09:20 PM

Iodine Tablets. The GOVERNMENT is sending a FREE packet of Iodine Tablets to every household in Ireland within the next week. Allellluuuiaaa Brethern, we are SAVED. Apparently, if an atomic bomb drops on you, there's no problem - you just rush home, swallow one of these and that's it.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Wincing Devil
Date: 18 Jun 02 - 12:47 AM

Iodine Tablets...

How's that Oxymoronic? Moronic maybe...

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 18 Jun 02 - 03:28 AM

Big John -- That poem is wonderful. Shame on you! *BG*

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: InOBU
Date: 18 Jun 02 - 01:03 PM

President Bush
Larry

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Argenine
Date: 20 Jun 02 - 09:50 PM

"Live Dead"

the wit and wisdom of George W Bush [Dan Quayle, etc.]

NBC News In Depth
cautiously optimistic
plastic silverware
digital dial phone
tight slacks
really cool sweater
6-month anniversary
singer Britney Spears
safe bet

Nice poem, Big John!

Alex, I assume you're being ironic about "positive feedback."  *b*
In a similar vein, I might list:
tough love
country/western classic

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Pean O'Graffey
Date: 21 Jun 02 - 06:03 PM

Eco-tourism, Lady Thatcher

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: mousethief
Date: 21 Jun 02 - 06:06 PM

Well "feedback" is sometimes used as a synonym for "unpleasant response" -- that's what I had in mind.

I assume the ability for technology to become religious is only a while off -- if the artificial intelligence gurus are right (which I am not exactly assured of).

Devout atheist -- did I already say that?

Alex

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Argenine
Date: 21 Jun 02 - 06:20 PM

Yeah, Alex, I assumed that's what you meant, but the term "feedback" itself is neutral; the response can be evaluative in a positive or negative sense, or it can merely be instructional or observational [as in, "..the guitar is louder than the vocals on that tape..."]. It's unfortunate that, as you suggest, many people think "feedback" = "criticism" = "a put down."

I could say a similar thing about "tough love." It really isn't an oxymoron, as the term was used by the folks who coined the phrase. But too many people nowadays tend to use it to mean "retribution," "zero tolerance," etc. [as in thinking of the death penalty or life imprisonment as "tough love}.

Arge

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Bert
Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:39 PM

Saw one today, a sign that advertised - FRESH JERKY

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,noddy
Date: 30 Oct 02 - 07:32 AM

rock musician

banjo player

modern history

management decision

95% fat free (the other 5% is 100% FAT)

manchester united

gold card

love triangle

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,Shf
Date: 30 Oct 02 - 09:10 AM

How about the latest proposal from the EEC I.E United States of Europe. I can think of nowhere more un-united.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Stephen L. Rich
Date: 30 Oct 02 - 08:31 PM

Nigel -- "Oxymora" may, indeed, be the proper plural form of the word. However, it is only used by those who don't realize that an oxymoron is defined as a particularly dim-witted beast of burden.*G*

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: Genie
Date: 30 Oct 02 - 09:36 PM

Discussed in another thread: "Algorithm"


(Think about it, you Yanks.)

Genie

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 31 Oct 02 - 11:55 AM

Creation Science

My son and I were at a Chinese restaurant the other evening and I told him he was eating with an oxymoron. "What's an oxymoron" he asked. So I came up with a definition. Now I'll just show him this site. The oxymoron was, of course, "plastic silverware.""

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: DG&D Dave
Date: 01 Nov 02 - 05:59 AM

Social Scientist
Physical Chemist
Well-person Clinic
and in many computer manuals 'This page has intentionaly left blank'?

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: GUEST,allen woodpecker
Date: 01 Nov 02 - 06:26 AM

Howz about Fun Size Mars Bars? a.w.

Subject: RE: Oxymorons
From: EBarnacle1
Date: 01 Nov 02 - 11:08 AM

The Mars Bar is fun size--if you own stock in the company.