I'm fascinated by language. The origins of words and phrases is incredibly interesting. I'm also fascinated by how much impact words have. Just changing "estate tax" to "death tax" made it ever so much easier for rich peoples bought and paid for politicians to make it literally go away.
But this is about phrases we use every day without thinking about them.
Oxymoron:
a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness); broadly : something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements
Think "jumbo shrimp".
I think of oxymorons as verbal hypocrisy; one word seemingly the opposite of the other, but commonly used together with nobody really noting the linguistic jujitsu.
Some of my favorites are below the cheese doodle.
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Please come in. You're invited to make yourself at home! Join us beneath the doodle...
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Here are some of my favorites:
Pretty ugly
Same difference
Bitter sweet
Authentic reproduction
Ladies man
Act naturally
Unbiased opinion
Good grief
Deafening silence
Seriously funny
Only choice
Student teacher
Wireless cable
Casual chic
Fresh frozen
Dark light
Whole piece
Once again
Freezer burn
Still moving
Loud whisper
Silent scream
Working vacation
Military intelligence
Wise men
The biggest laugh, however, comes with this one:
Honest politician
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Enough of my brain strain and search...
What are YOUR favorites?
From Boran2: Reasonable Republican
From Dave in Northridge: Military Justice
From Cali Scribe: Compassionate Conservative
From gizmo59: Plastic Glass and Conservative Intellectual
From Tara the Antisocial Social Worker: Job Satisfaction
From cohenzee: Smooth Sandpaper
From our fearless leader, brillig: Mild Jalapeno and Truth (in) Advertising and Wicked Good
From glb3: Soft Porn
From high uintas: Clean Coal
From indycam: Passive Aggressive and Artificial Restrictions
From Implicate order: Smart Bomb and Friendly Fire and Gun Safety
From zenbassoon: Educated Guess
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