Irony

I was going to post some photos depicting irony, in which the surface meaning and the underlying meaning of what is said are not the same (Henry Watson Fowler) and consists in “stating the contrary of what is meant” (Eric Partridge).

Typical, innit?

and perhaps

but then I came across this John Cleese video and it made *everything* pale in comparison. And last night, I watched Emma Thompsom spar with the equally brilliant (nah, she’s ahead!) Jon Stewart on his Daily News show, so it’s kinda like a double feature on ironic humour. I do believe it was the Brits who invented irony!