Vocabulary lessons with Governor LePage

So if you Google the word irony, the first definition given reads as follows:

the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.”“Don’t go overboard with the gratitude,” he rejoined with heavy irony”

In my last post I had a chance to use the adverb form of the first definition when referring to people I wouldn’t expect to preach about health “unless they were speaking ironically.” I was writing in response to Governor LePage’s latest effort to restrict the purchase choices of SNAP recipients.  This time, I’m going to play with the second definition, which reads as follows:

a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result. plural noun: ironies
“the irony is that I thought he could help me”

As in:

Maine is a state with a governor who is constantly at odds with the federal government, so much so that he is willing to gamble away hundreds of millions of SNAP-related dollars in a game of chicken with the feds ; AND Maine is a state that owes the biggest chunk of its recent income growth to the federal government.

Irony.

Patricia Callahan

About Patricia Callahan

Trish is a writer who lives in Augusta. She has worked professionally in education and social services.