According to John Spacey on Simplicable
There are eleven types of sarcasm (my comments are in bold, italicized)
Concealing the unacceptable?
“Sarcasm is an insincere statement designed to provoke. This is commonly used as an element of humor or as means to insult. The following are illustrative examples of sarcasm.
Irony statements or situations that are contrary to what one expects. There is no relationship between irony and sarcasm except that irony can be sarcastic:
‘I have nothing but respect for you, and not much of that,’ Groucho Marx
Flattery
Insincere praise can often be perceived as sarcastic
‘It’s been many years since I had such an exemplary vegetable’ Jane Austen ‘Pride and Prejudice’
I try to take all insincere flattery as a serious, positive comment, and thank the speaker. You have to be able to act for this one, keeping a happy face sometimes in the face of mirth or hostility all around you. I practiced this one by attending an event that I was not supposed to attend; the invite was open, but I had not done well enough in the final test to be welcome. I hope I managed to be classed as shameless! I knew it was an important skill to master, particularly for trade unionists who often face hostile responses. I knew I’d be good at this when a storyline (not the easiest to work with) passed me, waiting to go into a BBC training on assertiveness.
“What are you doing, Jane?”
“Assertiveness training.”
“Oh, YOU don’t need that.”
“Why thank you, S***”
Insult
Sarcasm is often used as an insult. This ranges from unimaginative false praise designed to point out weakness to witty remarks that are cutting and funny at the same time.
‘We can always count on the Americans to do the right thing after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.’ Winston Churchill
Passive Aggression
Passive aggression is a coping mechanism or bad habit whereby an individual attacks organisations, groups, or people without technically breaking any rules. Sarcasm is a light verbal form of passive aggression that wraps an insult in something that is polite on the surface;
‘Next time I see you, remind me not to talk to you.’ Groucho Marx
Humor
Sarcasm is a foundational type of humor
‘Those who believe in telekinetics raise my hand.’ Kurt Vonnegut
Satire
Humor that draws attention to political and social issues. It is often sarcastic.
Self Deprecation
Self-deprecation is the act of belittling yourself as a means of humor. According to the philosophy of stoicism, this is an excellent response to insult as it countersignals strength and shows you aren’t hurt by an attack. Self-deprecation is a confident form of humor that is understood and appreciated in cultures such as British culture. Sarcasm is a common form of self-deprecating humor.
‘They all laughed at me when I said I was a comedian, they’re not laughing now!’ Bob Monkhouse’
I favour calling things out: “Are you threatening me?” “Are you trying to humiliate me?”
Banter
Sarcasm may be used in the friendly exchange of teasing remarks. Banter is considered a social skill and people who have it many reply to sarcasm with wit and enthusiasm as opposed to getting angry.
‘I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend… if you have one.‘
George Bernard Shaw
‘Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second if there is one‘
Winston Churchill
Dry Sarcasm
Sarcasm that is delivered with such seriousness that you almost question whether it is meant to be sarcasm or not.
‘One might be led to suspect that there were all sorts of things going on in the Universe which he or she did not thoroughly understand‘ Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-five
Idioms
Idioms are phrases that aren’t to be taken literary because they have an alternative meaning that is widely understood by the native speaker of a language. It is common for sarcasm to be adopted as an idiom. For example, saying “nice one” when someone makes a mistake.
Visual Sarcasm
Visual sarcasm is the use of visual irony to provoke. This is a common form of artistic satire.”
When I was working as a location manager on the drama “Between The Lines 3” notoriously difficult, the scripts were late – we ended up with 70 locations to find and 3 weeks until the camera recce. The production manager and associate both were dry wits and when you dragged your sorry carcass back into the production office you were greeted with sarcasm – they knew the hell the location managers were dealing with but correctly assumed that it was better to make us smile. Had I been greeted with sympathy I would have collapsed.
It’s all about consent
#sarcasm, #subtle #consent #bullying