We know what a moron is, he is just a fool. But do we need to know about Oxymorons?
It seems there is some use in it, there is even a website of Oxymorons,, and a book called "Oxymoronica", by Dr. Mardy Grothe. Perhaps Oxymorons could help us?
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary says Oxymoron is, a "figure of speech with pointed conjunction of seemingly contradictory expressions", which does not help us at all- it is what you could call a 'meaningless definition', and those two words are what is called Oxymoron. The word comes from 'oxumoros', which means, 'pointedly foolish'. Definitions cannot be meaningless, and sometimes they are, especially when you are thick.
Consider these Oxymorons:
"The good oxymoron, to define it by a self-illustration, must be a planned inadvertency." - Wilson Follett
"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people"- Thomas Mann
"I wasn't really naked. I simply didn't have any clothes on"- Josephine Baker
"I never eat before breakfast." - W.C. Fields
"We pay him too much, but he's worth it"- Samuel Goldwyn
"I don't think I am any good. If I thought I was any good, I wouldn't be"- John Betjeman
"We are all failures- at least the best of us are" - J.M. Barrie
"No one goes to that place anymore - it's always too crowded." - Yogi Berra
I think if you use it sparingly, it could be a surprise weapon that could help people smile, for the right Oxymoron at the right time is the hallmark of intelligent morons (silly, this is getting to be a habit).
They can be fun
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