I hate to ask a question that I feel may make me look ignorant, but I am trying to fight my way through a common mis-conception, and to correct it where possible. The problem is the word irony, which I bring to this mailing list because irony plays such a large role in Vlad's vocabulary. I also mention it here because I have seen people on this list complain about how the word is mis-used a great deal in American culture. Heretofore I did not much care, as I could use the word well enough for my own satisfaction, but since I have begun teaching high school, I want to be able to correct my students properly. (I should mention that I don't teach English, but I do teach some pretty writing-intenseive history courses, and I try to encourage good language usage among the little weasels.) Could someone, perhaps Dr Mandel, provide a good definition of what irony in its proper usage? Perhaps even more important, could someone please provide some good words that mean what most people seem to think irony means (i.e. poetic justice or odd, interesting coincidences)? I am sort of embarassed to ask, since I feel like a man with two master's degrees ought to know this sort of thing by now, but now that I am, in however small a sense, a public figure, I want to be very correct in my diction. Thanks much! J A Dusty Sayers