Philip Hart writes:
I would say it's ironic that prescriptivists say that the way a large
majority of people use the word "irony" is wrong, but I'm not a
descriptivist.
This is still making me giggle.
It's not clear to me what Rone was being - I didn't think he was ignorant
of the quote, though, hence the irony of Mark's earnest instruction.
While not ignorant of the quote, i wasn't thinking of it when i made
my witty rejoinder.
If Rone was playing ignorant to make a point, his statement comes under
the definition of Socratic irony. (Incidentally I think it's ironic or
"ironic" that Socrates attacked the sophists but relied on sophistic,
straw-man arguments to make his case. Anyway that's how it seemed to me
back when I tried to read the "Dialogues".)
The only irony is that i wasn't being ironic, i think.
Which reminds me of a very short piece i wrote many years ago,
entitled "Infinite Loop":
"Were you being sarcastic just now?"
"No."
rone
--
"Alan Alda's all we are."
- Kurt Cobain