Oxymoronica
Paradoxical Wit and Wisdom from History's Greatest Wordsmiths
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5.0 • 4 Ratings
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- $1.99
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
ox-y-mor-on-i-ca (OK-se-mor-ON-uh-ca) noun, plural: Any variety of tantalizing, self-contradictory statements or observations that on the surface appear false or illogical, but at a deeper level are true, often profoundly true. See also oxymoron, paradox.
And, a wonderful writing exercise for students!
You won’t find the word “oxymoronica” in any dictionary (at least not yet) because Dr. Mardy Grothe introduces it tostudents in this delightful collection of 1,400 of the most provocative quotations of all time. From ancient thinkers like Confucius, Aristotle, and Saint Augustine to great writers like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and G. B. Shaw to modern social observers like Woody Allen and Lily Tomlin, Oxymoronica celebrates the power and beauty of paradoxical thinking.
All areas of human activity are explored, including love, sex and romance, politics, the arts, the literary life, and, of course, marriage and family life. The wise and witty observations in this book are as highly entertaining as they are intellectually nourishing and are sure to grab the attention of language lovers everywhere.
Here are just a few examples:
“Melancholy is the pleasure of being sad.”—Victor Hugo
“To lead the people, walk behind them.”—Lao-tzu
“You’d be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap.”—Dolly Parton
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Coining the titular word to describe quotations that contain seemingly self-contradictory elements, psychologist and amateur wordsmith Grothe (Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You) gathers hundreds of examples--ancient, modern and everything in between--of such sayings. From Confucius's"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's own ignorance" to Yogi Berra's"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded" to Adrienne Rich's"Marriage is lonelier than solitude," these bon mots offer pithy insights and sometimes clever advice. Grothe's 14 chapters group the quotations by theme; in"Sex, Love, and Romance," for example, Louise Colet advises readers to"Doubt the man who swears to his devotion," while in"Oxymoronic Insults (and a Few Compliments)," Henry James reflects that George Eliot is"magnificently ugly.... in this vast ugliness resides a most powerful beauty which, in a very few minutes, steals forth and charms the mind." Potentially useful to public speakers and certainly bound to amuse word mavens, Grothe's collection is good clean fun--with a bit of an edge: the last section offers"Inadvertent Oxymoronica," in which George W. Bush is quoted as saying"One of the common denominators I have found is that expectations rise above that which is expected."
