situational irony:

Carmen’s examples:
1)A psychology student rents out her spare room to a carpenter in order to nag him constantly
and study his reactions. After weeks of needling, he snapped and beat her repeatedly, leaving her
mentally retarded.
(taken from http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/5642.htm)

2)Two animal rights protesters were protesting at the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse
in Bonn. Suddenly, the pigs, all two thousand of them, escaped through a broken fence and
stampeded, trampling the two hapless protesters to death.
(taken from http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/5642.htm)

Diana’s example:
Jerry: You know it's a very interesting situation. Here you have a job that can help you get girls.
But you also have a relationship. But if you try to get rid of the relationship so you can get girls,
you lose the job. You see the irony?
George Costanza: Yeah, yeah, I see the irony.

verbal irony:
Carmen’s examples:

1. Me to my father about the Romanian word “pistornic”:

‘Now there’s a word of pure Latin origin!’

2. ‘You know very well that he is as sensitive as a chainsaw!’

Diana’s examples:

1. Ronnie: [to George] I've been living a lie.

George Costanza: You've been living a lie? I've been living... like twenty.

2. Chase: I'd give her a day. Two days at the most.

House: Great. You be the clock. Everyone else will be the doctors.

ANALYSING VERBAL IRONY IN ‘DR. HOUSE, MD’

(1) [The outside of the hospital. House is approaching and Cuddy is leaving – she is dressed in sports clothes. Cuddy
opens the door.]

House: Dr. Cuddy, great outfit!

Cuddy: What are you doing back here? Patient?
House: No, hooker. Went to my office instead of my home.

(2) [Cut to the dinner where House is giving his speech in honour of Ed Vogler, whose donation to the hospital has been
impressive.]
 House: A few things I forgot to mention. Ed Vogler is a brilliant businessman. A brilliant judge of people, and a
man who has never lost a fight. You know how I know the new ACE inhibitor is good? Because the old one was
good. The new one is really the same, it’s just more expensive. See, that’s another example of Ed’s brilliance.
Whenever one of his drugs is about to lose its patent he has his boys and girls alter it just a tiny bit and patent it all
over again. Making not just a pointless new pill, but millions and millions of dollars. Which is good for everybody,
right? The patients, pish. Who cares, they’re just so damn sick! God obviously never liked them anyway. All the
healthy people in the room, let’s have a big round of applause for Ed Vogler. [House claps, Foreman shakes his
head, the rest of the room stays silent. Vogler doesn’t look happy at all. As House hands Vogler the paper…] I threw
in a joke.

(3) [Cut to House getting into the elevator]

House: Hey, Foreman? Got a minute? [Foreman gets into the elevator.]
Foreman: So, pulmonary resistance is stabilised for the two kids, but BP’s still –
House: No news, then. How’s Cameron?
Foreman: Dr. Cameron?
House: Sure. Let’s start with her, and move on to all the other Camerons we know.
Foreman: Sorry, I’m just not used to you asking about someone’s well-being.
House: I can understand how the question would surprise you. I don’t quite get how it would confuse you.

IRONY IN ‘GARFIELD’

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