animalcrackers wrote:
I thought sarcasm was saying more or less the opposite of what you mean with a specific tone to indicate that you actually mean the opposite. (e.g. "That's great" said in a tone that indicates it's not great at all, or "That's terrible" said in a tone that means it's not terrible at all; Or more complicated opposites like saying something ridiculous and untrue to make a point about what is true.)
That's my understanding as well. For example, I could say, "I just love it when the bus is late, and I'm standing out in the rain waiting for it to arrive," and that would be sarcasm.
I don't know when I developed the ability to be sarcastic- maybe in my teens? I couldn't recognize sarcasm until around my mid-20s though. I was lucky enough to have a co-worker who was sarcastic all the time, and would tell me, "I was being sarcastic," when I didn't get it, so I had lots of practice. I don't pick up on sarcasm 100%, but I do most of the time. When I was much younger though, I thought of sarcasm as "lying," and I hated it, since I could never recognize it. Same as when people were "kidding."
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