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.