Whether it's political, economic, or social turmoil, the modern world can be hard to cope with. So, we need every tool that ...

When Marilyn Walker was a little girl, her grandmother introduced her to sarcasm through genteel put-downs that sounded sweet but weren’t. She’s been intrigued by figurative language ever since. “I ...

Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines sarcasm as “a taunting, sneering, cutting or caustic remark,” while the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary–which calls itself the “one of the world’s most ...

It’s funny how sarcasm is associated with humor. “To tear flesh like a dog,” is not a jolly image, but the word nonetheless derives from the Greek sarkazein, meaning just that. It evolved to mean “to ...

Q: I appreciate your distinguishing between definitions of sadism (e.g., clinical, colloquial). Another word I've wondered about is "sarcasm." I grew up thinking that "sarcasm" was like "sadism," ...

The Official Dictionary of Sarcasm delivers the perfect bathroom reading material. Not that you give a crap, as the author might say. James Napoli, who bills himself on the cover as executive vice ...

Young children don't get sarcasm – but by the time they're teens, it can be their default mode. Here's what science tells us about the mental acrobatics behind that wry one-liner. If I were to tell ...