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Oxymoron


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The basis and variations of this have been used here over the years ........

 

Ox-y-mo-ron

noun

 

A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction :

 

Examples :

 

Military Intelligence
War on Terror
Friendly Fire
Civil War
Active Reserve
Peacekeeping Forces
Controlled Crash
Safe Ammo ............ also Gun Safe,,,,,,,,,,, but I don't discuss that

 

Finally - - - -

Just War

 

 

Yes, I know, that's my quota for the month ;) but I am sick of just visiting, so I post random pieces ...........

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"The true beauty of oxymorons," says Richard Watson Todd, "is that, unless we sit back and really think, we happily accept them as normal English." Todd illustrates his point in the following passage:

 It was an open secret that the company had used a paid volunteer to test the plastic glasses. Although they were made using liquid gas technology and were an original copy that looked almost exactly like a more expensive brand, the volunteer thought that they were pretty ugly and that it would be simply impossible for the general public to accept them. On hearing this feedback, the company board was clearly confused and there was a deafening silence. This was a minor crisis and the only choice was to drop the product line.
(Much Ado About English. Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2006)

 

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