ironic humor
Saying the opposite
Ironic humor gets laughs from the gap between what's said and what's meant, or between expectation and reality.
A drenched person saying Lovely weather we're having uses verbal irony.
Situational irony—a fire station burning down—amuses through cosmic incongruity.
The humor often carries an edge, pointing out absurdity or hypocrisy without stating it directly.
- sarcasmIrony used to mock
- tragicomedyGenre blending sorrow and mirth
- oxymoronSelf-contradicting phrase device
- satireMockery exposing vice
- parodySatirical imitation
tongue-in-cheek · tongue firmly in cheek · wink wink · nudge nudge · knowing smile · raised eyebrow · understatement · eye roll · stand-up comedy · black comedy · paradox · deadpan · schadenfreude · emotional detachment · self-deprecation · bitter laugh · double entendre · farce
- Absurdist Humorabsurdist comedy, non sequitur, dream logic, word salad, fever dream
- anti-humorsubverted expectations, shaggy dog stories
ironic humorslapstick
Exaggerated physical humor
physical comedy · sight gags · broad comedy · buffoonery · puns
ironic humorsentimentality
Excessive tender emotion
melodrama · pathos · tearjerker · emotional vulnerability · wearing one's heart on one's sleeve