Collocations, for those a bit out of practice, are words which are quite often found together, e.g. strong coffee or heavy drinker. While they're not antonyms of oxymorons, they can be placed in a separate column. An oxymoron, as you know, is "a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction", for example deafening silence or an open secret.
Under the headings Collocation or Oxymoron, where would you place the following expressions?
# military intelligence
# democratic socialism
# unbiased opinion
# fact-finding holiday
# Marxist paradise
# political discussion
# efficient health system
# dishonest politicians
# honest Obama
# ethical blogging
Perhaps you can think of some others which would go under either heading.
unbiased opinion is an oxymoron. Better deal in objective than unbiased
ReplyDeleteMarxist paradise - more a mythical beast than anything else
the rest are collocations, after all one could say that any holiday where on leards new facts becomes a fact-finding holiday!
people who say democratic socialism or honest Obama are oxymorons are just voiceing their own political bisases
First I have to get round the word collocation it was used in a very odd way by the MoD and we had to mirror it in our campaigns....
ReplyDeleteHaving nearly put that to one side, I think Jams says it all ;-)
They did say that fighting for peace was like f**ing for virginity.
ReplyDeleteF**king w*nkers...!
I'd suggest that would be a couple of oxymorons followed by a singularly repulsive collocation! Or would the last one also be an oxymoron..???
Barry.
lol
ReplyDeleteand then there's always political intrigue
ReplyDeleteI suppose whether military intelligence is an oxymoron, depends upon whether your 'uniform' finds itself out in the field or inside the office ;)
My brother-in-law (navy CB=construction battalion) was once helping himself to some things left unloaded on a dock, er redistributing building supplies unauthorized; they almost had the truck loaded when the shore patrol came towards them. Ever so deviously adaptable, he said 'quick, start unloading.'
The first thing the shore patrol wanted to know was what they were doing unloading this building material on His dock without any permission...you guessed it, the SP ordered my bro-in-law to start loading the truck 'back up' and to get out of there. :)
Hahaha HGF that is hilarious. My dad avoided a charge for not saluting a couple of army officers in Cairo in WWII by reciting the Lord's Prayer in Gaelic
ReplyDeleteThese sorts of things do get some very interesting responses and it's the responses which I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteEuropean Union
ReplyDeleteReligious tolerance
Government organisation
Computer security
Bagpipe music
Wedded bliss
Politically Correct
Honest politician
Enlightened Liberal
Bagpipe music - naughty.
ReplyDelete