Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Oxymoron December 14, Figures of Speech

Organized
Religion
Oxymoron: A paradoxical or self-contradictory phrase, such as "Biggie Smalls," "pretty ugly," "Icy Hot," or "organized religion."  Some words are oxymoronic in themselves: preposterous, coming from the roots pre and post, means "before after."  Piano forte, the original name for piano, means "soft, strong."  Sophomore means "wise-fool' (if you taught them, you'd see why) and oxymoron itself: oxy-, meaning "sharp" or "biting" and moron, meaning "dull."