The study of sarcasm and verbal irony recognition integrates research from linguistics, cognitive neuroscience and psychology to elucidate how humans decode subtle non-literal meanings in ...

My first attempts at sarcasm were clumsy and too frequent. As my humor got darker and sharper, the barriers of entry into the grown-up world lowered—it was a rite of passage. Sarcasm filed and defined ...

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," ...

As the great British comic, Ricky Gervais once implied, England and America may not so much be divided by a common tongue, but by their distinctive use (and in the case of the Brits, their abuse) of ...

Adapted from "Irony and Sarcasm" by Roger Kreuz (MIT Press, 2020). Reprinted with permission from MIT Press. In February 1996, Alanis Morissette released the fourth single from “Jagged Little Pill,” ...

After President Donald Trump said during a rally in June 2021 that increased testing was responsible for the surging number of infections, the condemnation of the inaccurate claim was swift. Six days ...

Sarcasm may work for comedians, but when it comes to family relationships, it’s no laughing matter. That’s not to say that families shouldn’t be playful and light-hearted. The ability to joke and ...

When a 12-year-old’s mother asks him “How many times do I have to tell you to stop?” he will understand that the answer, if any is required, had better not include a number. But that insight requires ...