Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson for January 12, 2013
Transcript:
Phoebe: Sp I won the bee on the word "Pyrrhic." Don't get me wrong. I love my victory certificate! But somehow I wasn't sure I WANTED to beat Max. It makes winning sort of... Marigold: Ironic? Phoebe: My mom says someone names Alanis ruined that word forever.
BRI-NO-MITE!! Premium Member almost 12 years ago
Subtle.
fresco b milne almost 12 years ago
i dont under stand this reference the second time in 2 days i must be thick or somthing
Epicurme almost 12 years ago
Alanis Morissette, wrote a very popular song in the 90s, called Ironic. It’s a great song, but unfortunately, she misused the word Ironic in the lyrics, repeatedly. Where she described unfortunate “murphy’s Law” sort of events as “ironic.” Because of it’s popularity, the generation that listened to music in the 90s took away an inappropriate definition and used the world inappropriately.
And I say this with all respect. I’m a Huge fan of Alanis, actually. But, she did use the word wrong in her song, now other people do too, and that is the reference.
James Hopkins almost 12 years ago
That is certainly a Pyrrhic victory. Well played Dana.
Aurora_Gale almost 12 years ago
snort bwahahahaha! I remember that strip!
I how ever am suffering under Norovirus and have neither the energy or the remaining braincells to spend all night searching through I Drew This archives to post the link..
But I remember!
bluegirl285 almost 12 years ago
WHAT???!!! I LOVE that song!!!
jamestipton222 almost 12 years ago
Opposite of wrinkly
Happy, happy, happy!!! Premium Member almost 12 years ago
Ironic is so gay…It is kind of funny at times how the language changes, and what leads to those changes.
Majicou almost 12 years ago
You know what, kid, if Max is the kind of boy you’d want to pay attention to you, he’d never want for you to throw a competition in favor of him or anyone. If beating him in a spelling bee ruins your budding relationship with him, then it wasn’t worth anything to begin with.
(Yes, I’m addressing a fictional character.)
What’s far worse than anything Alanis did to the word “ironic” is people using it to mean “apt” or “exactly expected.”
Comic Minister Premium Member almost 12 years ago
Well done Phoebe!
BRI-NO-MITE!! Premium Member almost 12 years ago
One thing about a living language is that the meanings of words change. For example, several hundred years ago, the word “nice” meant “foolish”.
bopard almost 12 years ago
PHE too hung up on being a winner, she’s missing all the joys of doing. MAR is a winner, she’s missing common friendship. They are very good for each other.
Iron Ed almost 12 years ago
The comedians, “Sklar Brothers,” did a parody of Alanis’ song in which they ‘fixed’ all the wrong ironic phrases. :-)
(The Sklar brothers are actually quite good comedians!)
John W Kennedy Premium Member almost 12 years ago
A) The OED’s earliest use of “irony” to refer to a circumstance, rather than a figure of speech, is dated 1657; its first recorded English use of the word in /any/ sense is 1502. It is ridiculous that Alanis Morrisette should be taken to task for using a word in a way that it has been used for most of its known existence, especially since the two meanings don’t get in each other’s way.
My best guess is that, because she started her career as a Canadian teeny-pop idol (like “Robin Sparkles” on “How I Met Your Mother̦”), some people were just looking for an excuse to sneer at her when she started getting serious.
B) The rhetorical sense of “irony” is indeed pretty close to “sarcasm”; the essential difference is just one of degree: sarcasm is nastier.
C) There’s at least one other meaning of “irony”, the sin of irony, viz., making sure that everyone knows how wonderfully modest you are, so they’ll admire you for it.
jbmlaw01 almost 12 years ago
Required more thought than I usually offer, but I grant it is clever. The victory itself may have been “pyrrhic,” – depending on the reaction of Max and her apparent feelings toward him – which could have made her reflection on the victory “ironic.”
Piksea Premium Member almost 12 years ago
Alanis is only the most widely known abuser of irony, but she’s got plenty of local company!
Weapon Brown almost 12 years ago
Way to make me feel old there, Feeb.
John W Kennedy Premium Member almost 12 years ago
“Ouster” has been used in English since 1531.
John W Kennedy Premium Member almost 12 years ago
No. It came into English from medieval French, and has the same construction as, for example, “waiver” and “disclaimer”. “-er” has some six different meanings in English.
Remember what Sherlock Holmes said: “I never guess. It is a shocking habit destructive to the logical faculty."
sirmirom over 9 years ago
I am glomming my way through this DELIGHTFUL strip but this… THIS WAS GREAT