Is Drive-Through Liquor an Oxymoron?

[JamesU]

The other day, I was passing by another area of town, when I saw a sign that said: DRIVE-THROUGH LIQUOR. Now, I know that people aren't SUPPOSED to drink in their car, but I DO know that a lot of them don't.

doesn't 'drive through liquor' sound like an oxymoron

 

[moose]

No it doesn't.

 

[JamesU]

....

 

[moose]

Drive through liquor literally sounds like driving through an alcoholic liquid. Drive through pharmacies don't mean you pop the pills right after getting them. Drive thru's(why do they write that on the signs?) are generally picking something up and eating it/drinking it later...

 

[Smurf]

oxymoron is when two incongruous or contradictory terms are combined. Deafening Silence, Mournful optimist, "what if bush was right?"

 

[Pengwuino]

Oxymoron: Smart smurf

 

[zoobyshoe]

Oxymoron: Smart smurf

This is not an oxymoron so much as it is sarcasm: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usu. directed against an individual

Smurf's Bush remark was also sarcasm, and not an oxymoron.

 

[Pengwuino]

This is not an oxymoron so much as it is sarcasm: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usu. directed against an individual

Smurf's Bush remark was also sarcasm, and not an oxymoron.

uhm... uhhh... your the moron!

 

[moose]

original copy is an oxymoron
like, i have an original copy of my paper

that is a definite maybe
is also an oxymoron


a small crowd gathered


half full


virtual reality



strangely familiar



all alone



clearly misunderstood




constant variable

etc

 

[Smurf]

Oxymoron: Smart smurf

you know that's getting annoying.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Here are some:

cruel kindness
happy sadness
confused lucidity
outstanding mediocrity
sharp bluntness
attractive repellence
energetic lethargy
vague specificity
weighty levity
moist aridity
unearthly worldliness
wavey straightness
intelligent stupidity
promiscuous monogamy
healthy toxicity
full emptiness
heavenly evil
suave clumsiness
dissatisfied contentment
inconsistant sameness

 

[mattmns]

Hot water heater.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Most of these I don't think are oxymorons...

original copy is an oxymoron
like, i have an original copy of my paper

This one is. Something can not be a copy and the original at the same time.

that is a definite maybe
is also an oxymoron

I don't see this as one. Something is definitely still up in the air. It's the wording that makes it seem oxymoronic.

a small crowd gathered

I'm quite sure crowds can come in different sizes.

half full

This would sort of be a contraction of "Half way to being full"

virtual reality

Something very close to but not reality.

strangely familiar

A sense of familiarity which seems oddly placed?

all alone

This one I'm not sure about. It just seems like an unnecessary qualifier was added. You could be right though.

clearly misunderstood

This seems very much the same as the "definite maybe". I don't see a problem with the idea that something has clearly been misunderstood.

constant variable

Again like the above. Isn't it possible that something can be a known in some instances but variable in others? And then there can be something that is always an unknown or constantly variable?


Sorry if I'm being nit picky but I often find that I have trouble communicating with people because they think certain things or terms to be mutually exclusive when they really aren't. So I sometimes take it upon myself to point what I see out to people. Maybe it can give you a different perspective.

 

[Pengwuino]

Hot water heater.

That's not an oxymoron.

 

[TRCSF]

I think that's more of a non sequitor. It doesn't make much sense at face value.

Since we're giving examples of oxymorons, my personal favorite is Jumbo Shrimp.

 

[Smurf]

uhm... uhhh... your the moron!

A better response would've been "You're an oxymoron". God, I can't believe you missed that. Have I taught you nothing?

 

[Loren Booda]

If I "DRIVE THROUGH LIQUOR," my vehicle runs on alternative fuel.

 

[TRCSF]

A better response would've been "You're an oxymoron". God, I can't believe you missed that. Have I taught you nothing?

At least he spelled it right.

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=get+a+brain+moran

 

[zoobyshoe]

Most of these I don't think are oxymorons...

I don't think any of them are.

This one is. Something can not be a copy and the original at the same time.

The first copy you make of something can be the original copy. If you are referring to the original as a copy, it's not an oxymoron, just a misnomer.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I don't think any of them are.

The first copy you make of something can be the original copy. If you are referring to the original as a copy, it's not an oxymoron, just a misnomer.

Ah... I wasn't thinking. Copy doesn't necessarily mean a duplicate.

How about "Alone in a crowd"?

 

[TRCSF]

No, I think "original copy" is a perfect example of an oxymoron.

"Original" and "copy" are contradictory.

 

[Pengwuino]

I think you could say that its a copy of the original and kinda get by without saying its an oxymoron.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

No, I think "original copy" is a perfect example of an oxymoron.

"Original" and "copy" are contradictory.

Copy doesn't necessarily refer to a duplicate. Copy sometimes refers to textual material that is to be copied/duplicated/printed in which case "original copy" makes perfect sense.

 

[TRCSF]

Copy doesn't necessarily refer to a duplicate. Copy sometimes refers to textual material that is to be copied/duplicated/printed in which case "original copy" makes perfect sense.

Maybe not necessarily, but it often does. That's all that's necessary for it to be an oxymoron. It doesn't have to be some sort of logical contradiction. I think you're confusing "oxymoron" with "paradox."

"original copy" is an oxymoron even though it makes perfect sense. Same with "jumbo shrimp" or "civil war" or any other oxymoron.

 

[Pengwuino]

Well I think the only reason jumbo shrimp is an oxymoron is because we relate "shrimp" to small things. And civil war doesn't fit because your ignoring a definition that makes it logically correct. I think oxymoron is when there's two completely illogical words back to back like that deafening silence example.

 

[Gokul43201]

Not strictly an oxymoron, but I like it : Microsoft Works

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Maybe not necessarily, but it often does. That's all that's necessary for it to be an oxymoron. It doesn't have to be some sort of logical contradiction. I think you're confusing "oxymoron" with "paradox."

"original copy" is an oxymoron even though it makes perfect sense. Same with "jumbo shrimp" or "civil war" or any other oxymoron.

The definition of an oxymoron is that it joins contradictory terms. Your examples are only seemingly contradictory so not really oxymorons.

 

[moose]

Every oxymoron can be reworded, or claimed to have a different meaning for it to not be an oxymoron anymore. It's an oxymoron when you think of it with that definition.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Ah... I wasn't thinking. Copy doesn't necessarily mean a duplicate.

How about "Alone in a crowd"?

No, I wouldn't say that's an oxymoron. Just means you're not in the crowd with friends or family or anyone you know. It's hard to come up with a good one for the kind of solitude-amongst-many you're describing. The opposite, "crowded solitude" is not hard.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The definition of an oxymoron is that it joins contradictory terms. Your examples are only seemingly contradictory so not really oxymorons.

I agree with this. They were, sort of, pseudo-oxymorons.

 

[Loren Booda]

My oldest remembered: "military intelligence."

 

[Pengwuino]

British humility