OXYMORON

Welcome to this lecture headed “OXYMORON”. We will be discussing all about oxymoron. Enjoy your lecture.

Oxymoron, plural oxymora, is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are linked to produce an effect.

The common oxymoron phrase is a mixture of an adjective proceeded by a noun with divergent meanings like “cruel kindness” or “living death”.

Nevertheless, the contrasting words/phrases are not at all times joined together.

The divergent ideas may be spaced out in a sentence like: “In order to lead, you must walk behind.”

Difference between Oxymoron and Paradox

It is essential to comprehend the variation between a paradox and an oxymoron.

A paradox may be made up of a sentence or even a group of sentences.

An oxymoron, on the contrary, is an amalgamation of two opposing or conflicting words.

A paradox appears contradictory to the general truth but it does have an indirect truth.

An oxymoron, on the other hand, may create a dramatic effect but does not make sense.

Examples of oxymoron are found both in laid-back conversations and in literature.

Common Examples of Oxymoron

Open secret

Tragic comedy

Seriously funny

Awfully pretty

Foolish wisdom

Original copies

Liquid gas

The above oxymoron examples create a comical effect. Therefore, it is a lot of fun to make use of them in your everyday speech.

Oxymoron Examples in Literature

1. This example is an extract from the play “Romeo and Juliet”, Act I, Scene I, written by William Shakespeare.

“Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate!

O anything, of nothing first create!

O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!

Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms!

Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!

Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!

This love feel I, that feel no love in this.

Dost thou not laugh?”

We observe a series of oxymoron being used when Romeo confronts the love of an inaccessible woman.

An intense emotional effect is created to emphasize his mental conflict by the utilization of contradictory pairs of words like “hating love”, “heavy lightness”, “bright smoke”, “cold fire”, and “sick health”.

2. This example is taken from Tennyson’s “Lancelot and Elaine”.

“the shackles of love straiten’d him

His honour rooted in dishonoured stood

And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true”

We plainly observe the utilization of oxymoron in phrases “shackles… straiten’d”, “honour… dishonour”, “faith unfaithful” and “falsely true”.

3.The extract below is from Sir Thomas Wyatt’s Petrarch’s 134th sonnet,

“I find no peace, and all my war is done

I fear and hope, I burn and freeze like ice,

I flee above the wind, yet can I not arise;”

The opposing ideas of “war…peace”, “burn ….freeze”, and “flee above…not rise” create a dramatic effect in the above-specified lines.

4. Alexander Pope makes use of oxymoron to create wit in his poems.

“The bookful blockhead ignorantly read,

With loads of learned lumber in his head,

With his own tongue still edifies his ears,

And always list’ning to himself appears.”

The above lines from his “Essays of Criticism” make available fine evidence of his witticism.

The oxymora “bookful blockhead” and “ignorantly read” illustrate a person who reads a lot but does not understand what he reads and does not employ his reading to improve his character.

Uses of Oxymoron

Oxymoron creates a dramatic effect in both prose and poetry.

For example, when we read or listen to the renowned oxymoron, “sweet sorrow”, produced by Shakespeare, it appeals to us right away.

It incites our thoughts and makes us contemplate on the meaning of contrasting ideas.

This seemingly perplexing phrase shows a complex nature of love that could never be expressed through any other simple expression.

In everyday conversation, though, people do not make use of oxymoron to make a number of deep statements like the one stated above.

Rather, they do it to illustrate humorousness. The use of oxymoron incorporates flavor into their speech

One Word Oxymorons

anyone

audiovisual

backside

ballpoint

barnyard

basketball

bedrock

begone

bittersweet

blindsight

bridegroom

butthead

checkpoint

courtroom

cowboy

deadbeat

earthstar

deadbolt

everyone

extraordinary

fail-safe

featherweight

firewater

freeload

fruitcake

getaway

godson

highland

hometown

homework

houseboat

ill-humor

ironwood

kickstand

kingpin

know-how

laboratory

knothole

lay-up

lend-lease

lightweight

lonesome

man-child

monopoly

mythological

nevermore

nightlight

nook

offset

outcome

oxymoron

penknife

pianoforte

preposterous

roadblock

rootcap

seashore

sleepwalk

soapstone

someone sophomore

speechwriting

spendthrift

spitfire

storehouse

strawberry

sunshade

supernatural

toecap

typewrite

watercolor

warlord

weekday

whenever

wholesome

Two Word Oxymorons

act natural

action plan

additional reduction

adult children

all alone

almost exactly

alone together

altogether separate

another one

anxious patient

apparently invisible

assistant principal

assisted suicide

athletic scholarship

audience viewing

awfully good

baby grand

bad goods

backdoor front

ball club

ball diamond

bar entrance

barely dressed

basic acid

bed canopy

behave badly

benevolent despot

benign neglect

big baby

black light

blind spot

blue blood

boxing ring

brief longing

bring away

building wrecking

bus station

calm breeze

can’t can

cardinal sin

cheap jewelry

cherry tomato

citizen soldier

civil war

class clown

classic novel

clean dirt

clearly confused

climb down

cold sweat

come away

conspicuous absence

constant change

constructive criticism

conventional wisdom

cost savings

crack fix

crash landing

crazy sound

criminal justice

critical praise

crowded room

cruel joke

cute dog

damaged goods

dark spot

deafening silence

death benefits

defensive attack

definite possibility

deliberate mistake

devilishly good

diamond ring

disaster relief

divorce court

doing nothing

don’t do

dotted line

double solitaire

down escalator

drag race

dress pants

driving stance

dry martini

dull roar

easy task

earth angel

elevated subway

emotional reasoning

empty lots

escaped prisoner

essentially useless

even odds

executive secretary

extensive briefing

extinct life

fairly dark

fairly nasty

far closer

farewell reception

fast food

fast idle

faulty logic

faulty sound

feeling numb

few more, a

final draft

finally begun

find missing

fine mess

firm handshake

fish farm

fix breakfast

flat busted

flexible freeze

flood control

flying boat

forced choice

forgotten memories

foreign national

forward lateral

free press

free trade

free will

freezer burn

fresh frozen

front end

funny business

fuzzy logic

gentleman bandit

genuine imitation

get taken

global village

good grief

graduate student

graphic language

great lack

green orange

ground up

growing smaller

guest host

half empty

hard plastic

hard water

hardly easy

head butt

high ground

highly depressed

historical fiction

holy war

home office

homeless shelter

hopelessly optimistic

horror comics

hot ice

human nature

ice water

idiot savant

idle gossip

idle work

ill health

income tax

increasing losses

incredibly real

industrial park

infinite in number

initial results

inside out

invisible ink

irate patient

jet lag

job hunting

juice bar

jumbo shrimp

jump seat

jungle gym

lame effort

large minority

largely inconsequential

larger half

lead balloon

lean pork

least favorite

legal brief

left rights

leisure industry

light shade

liquid crystal

little more

little lot

live recording

living fossil

local celebrity

long briefs

loose tights

loosely packed

loss leader

loyal opposition

major general

mandatory option

middle initial

mighty weak

mild enthusiasm

minor disaster

missing here

mobile home

modern history

morbid humor

mud bath

multiple dividends

muted sound

mutually exclusive

narrow range

nasty fine

natural actor

nature preserve

needless requirement

negative growth

neutral color

never again

never ever

new age

new tradition

non-dairy creamer

non-working mother

none other

normal deviation

nothing much

now then

numb feeling

number one

objective opinion

obstructed view

occupied space

odd evening

oddly familiar

old boy

old news

once again

one another

one pair

one-man band

only choice

open bar

open circuit

open house

open secret

ordinary event

original copy

outer core

paid volunteer

paper tablecloth

park drive

partially completed

passive resistance

peace offensive

permanent change

personal business

petty officer

plastic glass

play dead

plea bargain

political party

positively eutral

practical joke

press release

pretty ugly

primary conclusion

primitive technology

private citizen

progressively worse

public privy

qualitative data

quantum leap

questionable answer

quiet rage

quite unlikely

raised sink

random order

real potential

reality show

really fake

recorded live

regular specials

relative stranger

religious tolerance

required elective

resident alien

restless sleep

retired worker

riot control

rising deficit

rock garden

rolling stop

round flat

rough finish

rubber cement

sad clown

safety hazard

same difference

sanitary sewer

scale down

scented deodorant

science fiction

second best

serious play

set off

ship’s hold

shock therapy

shoot blanks

sight unseen

short distance

silent alarm

simply brilliant

sit up

skinny broad

slave wages

sleep walk

slow speed

slumber party

small army

small wonder

soft rock

solid line

solo concert

some more

sound asleep

spectator sport

spoiled goods

sports scholarship

square beads

stand down

stands seating

steady vibration

stealth bomber

still life

still shaking

stop action

store display

straight listing

strange friend

strangely familiar

strawberry blond

student teacher

studio apartment

sugarless candy

sure bet

sweet pickle

sweet tart

talk show

talking pictures

taped live

tax return

terribly nice

thick film

tick tock

tight slacks

tip toe

toll free

top floor

tough love

tragic comedy

travel lodge

travel stop

true story

truly false

turkey ham

unacceptable solution

unbiased opinion

uncontested race

uncrowned king

uninvited guest

unknown identity

unsung hero

unusual routine

utter silence

vacuum filled

very little

virtual reality

war games

watch noise

water vapor

well-known secret

white chocolate

winged feet

wooden nickel

work party

working vacation

young adult

Types of Oxymoron

The most widespread type of oxymoron involves an adjective–noun combination of two words.

For example, the following line from Tennyson’s Idylls of the King is made up of two oxymora. For example:

And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.

Other examples of oxymora of this kind include:

Dark light

Living dead  used for a form of supernatural being

Guest host (Permanent guest host)

Crazy wisdom

Mournful optimist

Violent relaxation (but has been used as a technical term in development of galaxies)

Less frequently seen are noun–verb combinations of two words, like what is obtained in the line below “The silence whistles” from Nathan Alterman’s “Summer Night”, or in a song title like Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence”.

Oxymora are not always a pair of words; they can also be devised in the meaning of sentences or phrases.

Thanks for reaching to this point marking the end of this lecture.

Your Lecture Master:

Mst. Ugonwanne Joshua