Communicating with other people can be very difficult, and during a dialogue we are not always able or willing to directly say what we think, especially if we are dissatisfied with something. How can you do this subtly and funny?
Examples of irony and sarcasm come to the rescue in such situations. How to use this verbal weapon against an opponent in order to be known as a person with a sharp tongue? Find out below.
We just warn you that this technique is passive aggression, so you should not use it in relation to people whose opinion and respect you value.
What is sarcasm
Sarcasm is the highest degree of verbal irony, which ridicules something or someone or expresses contempt. You say the opposite of what you mean (verbal irony), and you do it with a special intonation.
Sarcasm comes from the Greek words “sark,” meaning “flesh,” and “asmos,” which translates to “tear.” So literally the term sounds like “flesh-tearing”—a pretty gory image for the type of speech we use all the time!
If you couldn't get a woman, work with your hands.
Two tipsy guys on the street follow a girl: “Girl, you must have been to a beauty salon?” Girl, flirtatiously: - Yes! Perhaps it was closed?
A mother comes to pick up her child at kindergarten. He looks at the children sitting in the sandbox with their phones, and the teacher is sleeping on the bench. - Why are you sleeping?! Your children will run away. But where will they go? We only have Wi-Fi within the sandbox.
Congratulations! Operation was successfully completed! Now you are a woman! - But they had to cut out my appendix! You won't please the women!
A drunken husband knocks on the door. My wife won't let me. The husband shouts: “Who’s the boss in the house?” Wife: - Whoever is in the house is the master.
Grandfather and grandmother are sitting and having lunch. Grandma slurps. The grandfather cannot stand it and hits the grandmother on the forehead with a spoon. - For what? Don't slurp. Grandma stopped slurping. After a while, the grandfather again hits her on the forehead with a spoon. - And now for what? As I remember, it’s already infuriating.
A little daughter asks her mother: “Mom, where do they insert tampons?” Mom: - Where children come from. The daughter was surprised: - Like a stork, or what?
Dear son! How many times do I have to tell you, “I gave birth to you, and I didn’t download you from the Internet!”
When is sarcasm used?
Sarcasm, by definition, can only be used in dialogue. It can have a wide range of effects, but usually shows that the speaker is being impatient or contemptuous.
It is also a sign of disrespect for the person being addressed, so can be used as a way of responding to insults with humor. The broader category of verbal irony has other uses, but sarcasm, in particular in literature, is often a quality of speech of a character, and therefore its function is to reveal aspects of that character's personality.
More often than not, sarcastic characters in culture are cynical, a little bitter, lonely, and perhaps arrogant. Think of Dr. Cox from Scrubs - he often uses verbal irony to make fun of other characters in the show, especially the main character, J.D.
However, like many sarcastic characters, Dr. Cox is often more brutally honest than offensive. Therefore, with sarcasm you can not only answer the question of your interlocutor (especially an enemy), but also express your displeasure, disappointment or negative attitude towards some situation or person in a slightly veiled form.
Still doesn't sound very clear? Then let's look at specific examples of how you can respond with sarcasm.
The funniest jokes in the picture
It's a shame when your little sister has a bigger bra than you.
Two grandfathers are sitting in the bushes, relieving themselves. One to the other, dreamily, - Mikhalych, before there was a time when farming reached right up to the ground. Another, thoughtfully: “Yes, the earth has settled, a lot.”
Mom, can I go for another walk? - Son, are you out of your mind? You have registration at the registry office in an hour! A traffic cop stops the car, his former teacher looks at the wheel: - Hello Irina Petrovna! Now we take a pen and paper and write one hundred and fifty times: “I will no longer break the traffic rules!”
Eggs are fried in a frying pan. One egg says: - Well, it’s hot here. Another shouts: “Help, help talking eggs!”
Conversation between two oligarchs: - I bought land in a very beautiful area, there is an open field, there is a forest around, a pond. I'll build a great restaurant there. - But there are no people there, who will go there? Well then, I'll build a city around it.
Examples of sarcasm from everyday life
“Oh yes, you were sooooo helpful! Thank you so much for your invaluable help!”
Imagine someone saying this, drawing out syllables in an exaggerated manner, repeating words, and perhaps rolling their eyes. Thanks to intonation and facial expressions, you will quickly understand that in fact the person means the exact opposite and wants to convey his dissatisfaction to the interlocutor without resorting to direct criticism of his work.
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“I made a GREAT decision by selling my car right before I decided to move!”
Sarcasm is not always mean or offensive. It can also be absurd, playful, or (as in this example) self-deprecating. Again, the verbal irony, plus the tone of voice, makes this phrase an example of sarcasm.
Sarcasm can not only respond to insults addressed to you and joke about yourself, but also be used as a friendly barb.
“That parsley between your teeth attracts all eyes to your smile!”
Just be careful: such mocking phrases can only be said to people you know well and so that others do not hear it, otherwise your sarcasm will be perceived as rudeness.
You can point out to a close friend the abuse of perfume using a phrase pronounced with emphasis on politeness:
“What a great cologne! Do you like marinating in it?”
Let's give another clear example of how to respond funny and with sarcasm to an awkward situation in which you unwittingly found yourself through someone else's fault. Imagine that you are sitting in a restaurant and the waitress accidentally spills a glass of water on you.
She is probably embarrassed, it may be difficult to remain silent, but screaming and loudly expressing your anger is very ugly and indecent of you. What can be done? Sarcasm will help you!
“Oh thank you, I was just getting ready for the wet T-shirt contest.”
Want more examples? Then scroll below to find out how characters in books, films and TV series used sarcasm to defend and attack when communicating with enemies, friends or even strangers.
Examples of sarcasm in literature
Many classics of Russian literature resort to sarcasm in their works. With its help, they harshly criticize characters, events or the reality around them. One can, for example, recall Chatsky’s famous monologue “Who are the judges?” Griboyedov's comedy "Woe from Wit":
Where, tell us, are the fathers of the fatherland, Whom we should recognize as models? Aren't these the ones who are rich in robbery...
Or let us remember the passage in which Griboyedov, using sarcasm, ridicules the vices of one of the characters in the comedy, Molchalin:
Molchalin! - Who else will settle everything so peacefully! There he will pet the pug in time, here he will wipe the card at the right time, Zagoretsky will not die in it.
And you can give another example of Lermontov’s “Duma”. This work is pure sarcasm aimed at ridiculing an entire generation. Moreover, the one to which Mikhail Yuryevich himself belonged.
I look sadly at our generation! Its future is either empty or dark, Meanwhile, under the burden of knowledge and doubt, It will grow old in inaction...
We are shamefully indifferent to good and evil. At the beginning of the race we wither without a fight; In the face of danger they are shamefully cowardly, And in the face of power they are despicable slaves...
And we hate, and we love by chance, Without sacrificing anything, neither anger nor love, And some kind of secret cold reigns in the soul, When fire boils in the blood...
ON THE. Nekrasov “Kalistrat”:
Above me my mother sang, my cradle rocking: “You will be happy, Kalistratushka! You will live happily ever after! »
And, by the will of God, my mother’s prediction came true: There is no richer, no more beautiful, no more elegant Kalistratushka!
I bathe in the spring water, I scratch my hair with my hands, I wait for the harvest from the unsown strip!
And the housewife does the laundry for the naked children, dresses up even more than her husband - Wears bast shoes with a hook! .
Related concepts
We've sorted out sarcasm, now let's see how it differs from things like irony, sardonic laughter and cynicism.
Irony
What is irony and what are examples of its use? Let's start with the fact that this is a technique in which, just like in sarcasm, what is said is the opposite of the intended meaning.
It has several forms: direct irony, self-irony and post-irony, when sincerity becomes difficult to distinguish from a satirical device.
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The toughest and most evil of them is sarcasm, which we talked about above. The most striking examples of direct irony:
“Well, thank you, I helped! “- this is what they say to a person who accidentally harms someone.
The answer to a question about something boring and uninteresting: “Yeah, that’s all I think about.”
A message about something unpleasant: “I love a stick like a dog.”
Sardonic laughter
Although they sound similar, don't confuse the words "sarcastic" and "sardonic." Sarcasm is the most offensive verbal irony, expressed in a caustic tone. Sardonic means “cynical” or “mocking.”
Therefore, sarcasm is often sardonic. When a character uses sarcasm to make fun of someone else, it is a sardonic comment. However, the key difference is that a sardonic comment is not necessarily ironic. He can tell exactly what the speaker means, just in a mocking tone. For example:
I did not attend the funeral, but sent a letter saying I approved of it.
Mark Twain
This remark by Twain is certainly mocking: it expresses his dissatisfaction with the deceased in a rather harsh form. But this is not irony or sarcasm. This statement is much closer to witty directness and brutal honesty than to sarcasm.
Cynicism
Although cynicism is synonymous with sardonicity, it is a philosophy of life, while sardonicity is only a tone. Cynicism originally meant “appreciating the simple things in life,” but then this definition was absorbed into a new meaning.
Nowadays, cynicism usually refers to a self-centered and negative outlook on life. Cynical people tend to be skeptical and disdainful of sentimentality and “positive thinking.”
But despite all these negative connotations, cynical people often become extremely popular television characters. This is probably due to the fact that cynical, sardonic and sarcastic remarks often cause laughter.
- Author: Maria Minaeva
Sarcasms in aphorisms
Many phrases spoken by great people (essentially aphorisms) were full of sarcasm. For example,
“We are all cut from the same cloth, and of rather poor quality” (Mark Twain)
or
“All murderers deserve punishment. Unless, of course, they kill by the thousands, to the sound of fanfare” (Voltaire).
Or here's a well-known one:
The capitalists are ready to sell us a rope with which we will hang them" (Vladimir Lenin)
But of those who had the most “sharp” tongue, it is best to remember Faina Ranevskaya. This is someone who really knew how to laugh sarcastically at others and at themselves:
- There are people in whom God lives. There are people in whom the devil lives. And there are people that live only worms.
- Many people complain about their appearance, but no one complains about their brains.
- There are a million fans, but there is no one to go to the pharmacy.
- Optimism is a lack of information.
- Horseradish, based on the opinions of others, ensures a calm and happy life.
The birch tree cried, the aspen cried, but only the hemp tree neighed like a beast.
Were you born in a legal marriage? - Half. How is that? — My father was married, but my mother was not married.
Winnie the Pooh comes to Piglet and says: “Piglet sent us ten jars of jam.” Eight each. - Why eight? I don’t know Vinny, I’ve already eaten my eight.
Two hunting dogs are talking: “Yesterday we were walking through the forest with our owner, suddenly a bear came out from behind the bushes!” But the owner forgot his gun at home. Well, I’ll rush at him, I’ll scream! - How brave you are, you rushed at the bear! But what kind of bear?! I rushed at the owner, hugged him with my paws and whispered: “Let’s run away from here, you idiot!”
Zoology lesson. The teacher asks. — How do hedgehogs reproduce? Vovochka: - Very, very carefully.
The wife pesters her husband: “Tell me, dear, do I have beautiful hair?” Beautiful. -Are your eyes beautiful? Beautiful. - And the nose? And the nose is beautiful. Here the husband asks with suspicion: “Wait, aren’t you reflected in the mirror?”
