ANTIPHRASIS
Noun. Pl. -ases. M18.
[Late Latin from Greek, from antiphrazein express by the opposite, formed as ANTI- + phrazein indicate, declare, tell.]
RHETORIC. Use of words in a sense opposite to their customary meaning.
At my Dad's wedding, a friend and I (after a couple of glasses of wine) filled out an entry in the wedding guest book. Our entry went something like so:
"The food was raw, the guests were sick, and the band was the illest! Great wedding, Dad!"
Hmm. Dad's not that familiar with hip-hop culture. Maybe he didn't realise we were just engaging in a bit of antiphrastic wordplay. I should probably give him a call before he complains to the caterers.
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