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What are your favorite oxymorons?

Last week I posted some Redundant Redundancies so this week I thought I'd post some more word fun with oxymorons. An oxymoron is defined as a figure of speech containing two normally contradictory words.  Here are some I found.  Please add yours!
  • Same Difference
  • Hot Ice (Stolen Diamonds)
  • Pretty Ugly
  • Deafening Silence
  • Sweet Sorrow
  • Silent Scream
  • Serious Humor (really funny)
Can you name some?  What are your favorite oxymorons?

9 comments

  • Felice Gerwitz

    My life is an oxymoron! I wrote a book entitled “Teaching Science and Having Fun!” and I preface my seminars with … no, this is NOT an oxymoron! I love them. How about the following:

    Seriously funny
    Depressingly funny
    okay this is Chinese food but…Sweet and Sour

    All I can think of off the top of my head :)

  • Kare

    How about
    ‘accidentally on purpose’
    ‘known secret’
    ‘clearly misunderstood’

    I love oxymorons!

  • Kathy Kuhl

    One Scandinavian language course is nearly an oxymoron: “Beginning Finnish”

  • Cindy Holman

    There is a Chris Rice song entitled “Love is gonna break through” and it has several oxymoron’s phrases in it. One is: “like a swing set in a grave yard – or a bloom in the dessert sand” Great song talking about how love breaks through the impossible.

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