28 August 2006 21:53
Guess this might come in handy...I've been using a personal sarcasm scale when writing for quite a few years now. Fairly useless to most of the world considering I only ever told one person about it. Thought I'd change that tonight to help enlighten y'all so's you can understand me better (hahahaha). It's part of my ongoing war against the inadequacy of the ill-equipped realms of text-only communication to compare with face-to-face communication and all the depth of nuance that six senses bring (okay, only two to three for most conversations, but you get my drift). My notation consists of a scale from 0 to 5 enclosed by brackets after a statement.
[0] = drop dead serious
[1] = no sarcasm, take it at face value
[2] = light banter
[3] = definitely sarcastic, but still in a good mood
[4] = very sarcastic, almost enough to make you take a step back and say, "whoa"
[5] = very sarcastic, perhaps a skosh overboard [3] (and typically it means I'm upset)
For an example of usage (besides the one I already included in defining level 5), here is something I wrote recently:
meanwhile, i've neglected to mention that the windshield wipers on the nissan i was driving were worthless. something to do with the various rubber pieces trailing along behind the main body of the wiper. don't tell anybody, but i think there was a small amount of dry rot involved [3].
In otherwords, yeah, I was being sarcastic. Now you know :). No animosity or anything, but I was definitely being sarcastic regarding the dry rot. Then there's:
today I coveted something (what else is new?). topleftpixel mentioned a little gadget today called pclix which can be handy (ie, absolutely necessary [4]) when doing time lapse photography.
Here i'm not only being sarcastic, but there's an additional element of criticism of my own materialism that gives the sarcasm a negative undertone...hence level 4.
Level three is the most common level of sarcasm I use when writing posts, with four and five showing up on occasion. You'll typically never see two outside of a personal email, and usually my context is clear enough on serious issues to make the use of zero or one redundant. Shifting slightly, here are some definitions from m-w.com to finish off:
cynical
1: (captious, from Latin captio deception, verbal quibble, from capere to take)
1 marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections (captious critics)
2 calculated to confuse, entrap, or entangle in argument (a captious question)
2: (cynic, from Greek kynikos, literally, like a dog)
2 a faultfinding captious critic; especially : one who believes that human conduct is motivated wholly by self-interest
Synonym Group 1
CRITICAL may also imply an effort to see a thing clearly and truly in order to judge it fairly (a critical essay).
HYPERCRITICAL suggests a tendency to judge by unreasonably strict standards (hypercritical disparagement of other people's work).
FAULTFINDING implies a querulous or exacting temperament (a faultfinding reviewer).
CAPTIOUS suggests a readiness to detect trivial faults or raise objections on trivial grounds (a captious critic).
CARPING implies an ill-natured or perverse picking of flaws (a carping editorial).
CENSORIOUS implies a disposition to be severely critical and condemnatory (the censorious tone of the review).
facetious
from facetie jest, from Latin facetia
1 joking or jesting often inappropriately : WAGGISH (just being facetious)
2 meant to be humorous or funny : not serious (a facetious remark)
Synonym Group 2
WITTY suggests cleverness and quickness of mind (a witty remark).
HUMOROUS applies broadly to anything that evokes usually genial laughter and may contrast with witty in suggesting whimsicality or eccentricity (humorous anecdotes).
FACETIOUS stresses a desire to produce laughter and may be derogatory in implying dubious or ill-timed attempts at wit or humor (facetious comments).
JOCULAR implies a usually habitual fondness for jesting and joking (a jocular fellow).
JOCOSE is somewhat less derogatory than FACETIOUS in suggesting habitual waggishness or playfulness (jocose proposals).
sarcasm
from Greek sarkazein to tear flesh, bite the lips in rage, sneer
1 a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain
2 a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual
satire
from Latin satura, satira, perhaps from (lanx) satura dish of mixed ingredients, from feminine of satur well-fed; akin to Latin satis enough -- more at SAD
1 a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn
2 trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly
Synonym Group 3
WIT suggests the power to evoke laughter by remarks showing verbal felicity or ingenuity and swift perception especially of the incongruous (a playful wit).
HUMOR implies an ability to perceive the ludicrous, the comical, and the absurd in human life and to express these usually without bitterness (a sense of humor).
IRONY applies to a manner of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is seemingly expressed (the irony of the title).
SARCASM applies to expression frequently in the form of irony that is intended to cut or wound (given to heartless sarcasm).
SATIRE applies to writing that exposes or ridicules conduct, doctrines, or institutions either by direct criticism or more often through irony, parody, or caricature (a satire on the Congress).
REPARTEE implies the power of answering quickly, pointedly, or wittily (a dinner guest noted for repartee).
Now in reading this last it appears that I haven't been using the same definition of sarcasm as Merriam-Webster. I've always thought of there being "good sarcasm" and "bad sarcasm", but in light their definitions I should be using the word "irony"...and "bad irony" would be synonomous with "sarcasm". "the form of irony that is intended to cut or wound". So sorry if that's caused any confusion. Don't think I'll change my "sarcasm scale" to the "irony scale" though. Since when I say something I would consider "ironic" I tend to let you know with a melodromatic "oh the irony!".
21:53 email me permalink / commentary (2)
wow, first i was surprised to find such a narrow def of 'cynical', and then shocked to realize the potential misunderstandings caused through the years by frequently refering to myself as "sarcastic". obviously we have the same understanding of sarcastic, but i'm pleased to learn i have a closer relationship to irony than previously thought. 30 August, 2006 17:12 – 
a clear echo of my own thoughts. wow, we think a lot alike. do I know you? ;) 31 August, 2006 19:39 – 
Brendan
