NewsBlues mrsbgrammar Page 77
Chapter 2 Word Choice
67
irony vs. coincidence
"Irony" and "ironic" are a couple of words we occasionally use in
copy. But are we using them correctly?
Mrs. B takes the cue from an Atlanta reader who says he used to be
in broadcasting but left to find more stable work in corporate
marketing:
"... a local reporter used the word 'irony' to describe the situation
when police arrived to tell the widow they had charged a man
with murdering her husband and the widow was on the way to
visit the husband's grave site. That's actually 'coincidence.'
"Irony would be the fact that the charged man was the detective
leading the investigation into the murder."
Bob Gosselin
When you use "irony," "ironic," or "ironically," be sure you mean a
disparity between what is expected to happen and what happens.
v
It's IRONIC that employees of a bankrupt company lined up for
job placement help at a stadium that bears the name of the
former employer, Enron. (Bob's sample sentence)
"Coincidence," on the other hand, is a sequence of events that,
although accidental, seems to have been planned.
v
How COINCIDENTAL that Jerry showed up looking for work
the same day the station posted the noon anchor job.
