Oxymorons
Oxymorons are phrases or words that seem to contradict themselves. Here are a few that passed across our desks. If you know of any more, share them with us through our contact page.
- New! Glorious sadness (Thanks to Pamela Coar)
- Accidentally on purpose (Thanks to Jackie C)
- Act naturally
- Advanced BASIC
- Almost exactly
- Alone together
- Anarchy rules
- Clearly misunderstood
- A definite maybe
- Deafening silence (Thanks Andy Barton)
- Diplomatic offensive (Thanks to David Elliot of Toronto)
- Exact estimate
- Extinct life
- Fine mess
- Found missing
- Fully empty (Thanks Whitney Lynn)
- Genuine imitation
- Good grief
- Intelligent dummy (for auto crash testing (Thanks Whitney Lynn)
- Jumbo shrimp
- Legally drunk
- The living dead
- The majority minority (An oxymoron created in the latest census used to describe the populations of Texas and California—Thanks Martha Thomas)
- New classic
- Now, then, (have you made up your mind?)
- Passive aggression
- Peace force
- Plastic glasses
- Pretty ugly
- Resident alien
- Retarded genius (Thanks Whitney Lynn)
- Same difference
- Sanitary landfill
- Silent scream
- Small crowd
- Soft rock
- Student teacher (Thanks Susan)
- Sweet sorrow
- Synthetic natural gas
- Taped live
- Terribly pleased
- Tight slacks
- Working vacation
Jokes
- Bank and trust (Thanks Greg Hunt)
- Government organization
- Microsoft Works
- Military Intelligence
- Senate Ethics Committee (Thanks Jim Straughan)
