Nobody goes to that resturant anymore, it's too crowded

August 16, 2004 12:33 PM

Oxymoronica
posted by bob sarabia (17 comments total)

Military Intelligence
posted by Pretty_Generic at 12:43 PM on August 16, 2004

How is "near miss" an oxymoron? It was a miss. It was things being near.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 12:45 PM on August 16, 2004

I'd give my left arm to be ambidextrous.
posted by neilkod at 1:16 PM on August 16, 2004

See also Oxymorons.info.
posted by armage at 1:22 PM on August 16, 2004

"Military Intelligence" is not an oxymoron. Describing Military Intelligence as an oxymoron is an amusing joke, but the phrase itself is not one, as the 'Intelligence' referred to is information, not cognitive capacity. The joke refers to the alleged fact that military personnel are not capable of cognitive thought. The joke does not attempt to invalidate the concept that information about an adversary exists.

I am neither a military man, nor an advocate of any sort of military action, so I cannot comment further.
posted by chrid at 1:22 PM on August 16, 2004

Because a "near miss" would be a collision.

e.g. "Those two planes nearly missed each other, but then they collided."
posted by Bonzai at 1:23 PM on August 16, 2004

"Oxymoronica" That's a left-handed mouth organ, isn't it?
posted by 327.ca at 1:27 PM on August 16, 2004

It's a miss that is near, in the sense that involves nearness. No problems there.

chrid: Are you telling me Groucho Marx is not some bland and sober professor of Logic?
posted by Pretty_Generic at 1:30 PM on August 16, 2004

Did I say that? I don't think I did. I didn't say that though did I though, though you might have thought that I did. Did I? No, I didn't.
posted by chrid at 1:38 PM on August 16, 2004

>AC/DC Unplugged
A friend used to play shook me all night long and highway to hell on accoustic guitar. He'd have the room in laughter.

French Resistance
okay

Many of these oxymorons (pretty ugly, good shit) are willfully interpreting the modifier (pretty, good) in its primary definition rather than the intended secondary definition: a - adjective: attractive, aesthetically pleasing, or favourable; b - intensifier: very, extremely. Problems arise when language goes on holiday
posted by philfromhavelock at 1:49 PM on August 16, 2004

We went over all of this recently where I commented about my own Oxymoron List that, no I still haven't converted to a database. And I tried to explain it all here, so I won't try again.

But I'm still waiting for languagehat to contribute his tuppence to this discussion...
posted by wendell at 2:11 PM on August 16, 2004

chrid: read subsection titled "The List"; there's a paragraph that goes into the difference between "subjective" and "objective" oxymorons.
posted by Mars Saxman at 2:23 PM on August 16, 2004

I shall, and I have the feeling that I shall emerge duly edumacated.
posted by chrid at 3:41 PM on August 16, 2004

The hardest thing to hide is
is something that is not there.
--from this page

: >
posted by amberglow at 3:51 PM on August 16, 2004

chrid: read subsection titled "The List"; there's a paragraph that goes into the difference between "subjective" and "objective" oxymorons.

Hey, I already read that bit, it's at the top of the page. Airline food! Haha!

The search for pie is one of
the chief sources of not pie.

Bollocks.
posted by chrid at 4:05 PM on August 16, 2004

Who wants pie?
posted by wendell at 4:38 PM on August 16, 2004

This bollocks pie... it vibrates?
posted by AwkwardPause at 1:58 AM on August 17, 2004