I Have a file of Paraprosdokians & want to create a file of oxymorons. Some samples: Millitary intelligence. Bureacratic efficiency.
From Carlin: 50. Act naturally 49. Found missing 48. Resident alien 47. Advanced BASIC 46. Genuine imitation 45. Airline Food 44. Good grief 43. Same difference 42. Almost exactly 41. Government organization 40. Sanitary landfill 39. Alone together 38. Legally drunk 37. Silent scream 36. British fashion 35. Living dead 34. Small crowd 33. Business ethics 32. Soft rock 31. Butt Head 30. Military Intelligence 29. Software documentation 28. New York culture 27. New classic 26. Sweet sorrow 25. Childproof 24. "Now, then ..." 23. Synthetic natural gas 22. Christian Scientists 21. Passive aggression 20. Taped live 19. Clearly misunderstood 18. Peace force 17. Extinct Life 16. Temporary tax increase 15. Computer jock 14. Plastic glasses 13. Terribly pleased 12. Computer security 11. Political science 10. Tight slacks 9. Definite maybe 8. Pretty ugly 7. Twelve-ounce pound cake 6. Diet ice cream 5. Rap music 4. Working vacation 3. Exact estimate 2. Religious tolerance 1. Microsoft Works ....hmm jumbo shrinp
I've always liked George Carlin's 'Jumbo Shrimp' Are they really big? Or are they really small? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Then, of course, there was once a trend in rock and roll to be oxymoronic in band names, i.e., Iron Butterfly, Led Zeppelin, Vanilla Fudge. I guess 'led' is spelled that way so people wouldn't pronounce 'lead' to sound like 'reed'. Added later: I found this on Yahoo answers. Good old Will the spear shaker. There's no one else like him.
Actually the original meaning of "shrimp" in Proto-Germanic was "something small." Applying it to the popular crustacean came many centuries later. I can't find anything on the band's choice of name, but the expression "iron butterfly" had been in use for quite some time. It's a trading strategy for stockbrokers. It also refers to a person who stays in the background--invisible but indispensable--such as a politician's most trusted aide. "That joke (or whatever) went over like a lead zeppelin" was already a common expression in the 1950s. By the time the band adopted that name, pretty much everybody was familiar with it so they wouldn't have been confused by the correct spelling. There was a trend to misspell band names (most famously the Beatles Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!) so they were just being hip. Fudge is by no means limited to chocolate. In fact, the Wikipedia illustration is indeed a vanilla fudge.
Fighting for peace. Killing someone your suppose to love. Calling yourself God, but having to kill instead of using reason and respect.
Who says that it is??? "Legally drunk" is, in fact a common legal term. It means that the subject has a blood alcohol level that is defined by the law as drunk, even if he shows no impairment. He can be arrested, without having to prove that he's a dangerous driver.
Yes, it is not illegal to be drunk, in most parts of the world, but is is illegal to drive while you are drunk. (Hmm. I'm afraid I've just said something everyone knows). Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Yes, FR, we know the meaning of the term, but it doesn't help us answer why, in post #5, it is listed as an oxymoron (number 38 of The list copied from Carlin... whoever that is). There are a few on the list that don't strike me as oxymoronic (aside from the jibes at New York and Britain, or the military or government, where the oxymoron pokes at the supposed stereotype). Such as: "airline food" or "childproof" etc.
