The Clue
Nonliteral humor (5 letter answer)
The Answer
IRONY
Tags
Notes
The answer IRONY is seen frequently, appearing about once every 180 puzzles.
Related Clues
Ferric
Ferrous
Ferruginous
Incongruousness
Sarcasm
Certain humor
Dissimulation of a sort
Dramatic device
Humor with a twist
Light sarcasm
Literary device
Literary form
Literary twist
Mockery of a sort
Sarcasm of a sort
Sardonic writing
Satiric twist
Slice of wry?
Sophocles skill
Speaker's device
Stinging surprise
Subtle sarcasm
Subtle satire
Subtle twist
Swiftian device
Wit of a sort
"The Gift of the Magi" feature
Humor not for dummies
Much-misunderstood writing
O. Henry device
O. Henry specialty
Sardonic literary style
Socratic ___ (pretended ignorance)
O. Henry literary device
Definition
IRONY as a noun:
1. (sarcasm, irony, satire, caustic remark) = witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Jonathan Swift
2. incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated"
3. a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs