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An oxymoron (plural "oxymora") (noun) is a figure of speech that combines two normally contradictory terms (e.g. "anarchy rules". "living dead"). Oxymoron is a Greek term derived from the adjectives oxys ("sharp, keen") and moros ("blunt, dull"). Oxymora are a proper subset of the expressions called contradiction in terms. What distinguishes oxymora from other paradoxes and contradictions is that they are used intentionally, for rhetorical effect, and the contradiction is only apparent, as the combination of terms provides a novel expression of some concept.

The most common form of oxymoron involves an adjective–noun combination. For example, the following line from Tennyson's Idylls of the King contains two oxymora:

"And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true"





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Deliberate use of oxymoron -

O miserable abundance, O beggarly riches!" John Donne, Devotions on Emergent Occasions
"I do here make humbly bold to present them with a short account of themselvesw/. " Jonathan Swift
"The bookful blockhead, ignorantly read, / With loads of learned lumber in his headw/." Alexander Pope
"He was now sufficiently composed to order a funeral of modest magnificencew/." Samuel Johnson
"O anything of nothing first create! / O heavy lightness, serious vanity! / Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! / Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!" William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, Act 1, scene 1
"It was the best of times, It was the worst of times." Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities
"You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap." Dolly Parton
"I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught." Winston Churchill
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Mark Twain
"I am a deeply superficial person." Andy Warhol
"The only new thing in this world, is the history you did not know." Harry Truman
"A joke is a very serious thing." Winston Churchill
"Melancholy is the pleasure of being sad." Victor Hugo
"The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep." W.C. Fields
"To lead the people, walk behind them." Lao-Tzu
"I miss the comfort in being sad." Kurt Cobain "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle"





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   "It Get's Late early around here"

   An expression of not having enough time when you are having fun

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