A form of irony that, at a cursory glance, seems to completely miss the definition of irony. Upon further consideration, it occurs to people later that the only thing ironic about it is that there is nothing ironic about it. This, in turn, sets up a conundrum wherein critics are no longer sure whether the original author is either a genius or fucking stupid. Named for Alanis Morisette's song Ironic.
The book was Alanis ironic in that the "ironic" stories the author told were so far off the mark that people had to wonder, given his otherwise sound literary prowess, whether he intentionally used "cosmic irony" to both increase the colloquial understanding of the misuse of ironic and define it in a subtle way, or if he really just doesn't understand irony.
by Leghumpingconnoisseur January 20, 2015
a) Something that is NOT ironic, but rather, just really bad luck, or just a really shitty/unfortunate situation or occurrence in general.
b) A semiotic phenomenon stemming from Canadian singer Alanis Morissette's 1996 hit pop song "Ironic" that caused an entire generation (and all generations after) to misuse and not understand the true meaning of the word ironic, resulting in a now culturally acceptable misappropriation of the word ironic.
c) A bastardized definition of the word ironic that is blatantly wrong, yet is widely used and is somehow still accepted in contemporary culture.
b) A semiotic phenomenon stemming from Canadian singer Alanis Morissette's 1996 hit pop song "Ironic" that caused an entire generation (and all generations after) to misuse and not understand the true meaning of the word ironic, resulting in a now culturally acceptable misappropriation of the word ironic.
c) A bastardized definition of the word ironic that is blatantly wrong, yet is widely used and is somehow still accepted in contemporary culture.
'90's kid: "Aw man! its raining and i wanted to go to the beach today!"
'80's kid: "Um, that's not ironic, that's Alanis Ironic."
'90's kid: "What?"
'80's kid: "Dude, that's just bad luck, it's NOT ironic."
'90's kid: "But Alanis said..."
'80's kid: "Yeah, I know what she said- I've heard the song too. I hate to break it to you, but none of the situations in the song "Ironic" are actually ironic at all. For example, it's not "ironic" to have rain on your wedding day, that's just really fucking shitty luck. It would be ironic if you were an esteemed meteorologist, famous for your accuracy, and you had been planning your wedding for years based on your weather predictions for the most perfect, clear, sunny day, and then, totally contrary to your predictions, a huge storm occurs on the day of your wedding. That would be truly ironic."
'90's kid: "I have no fucking clue what you just said."
'80's kid: "Um, that's not ironic, that's Alanis Ironic."
'90's kid: "What?"
'80's kid: "Dude, that's just bad luck, it's NOT ironic."
'90's kid: "But Alanis said..."
'80's kid: "Yeah, I know what she said- I've heard the song too. I hate to break it to you, but none of the situations in the song "Ironic" are actually ironic at all. For example, it's not "ironic" to have rain on your wedding day, that's just really fucking shitty luck. It would be ironic if you were an esteemed meteorologist, famous for your accuracy, and you had been planning your wedding for years based on your weather predictions for the most perfect, clear, sunny day, and then, totally contrary to your predictions, a huge storm occurs on the day of your wedding. That would be truly ironic."
'90's kid: "I have no fucking clue what you just said."
by Captain American't July 11, 2011