ESL/IEI: Oxymorons

http://www.oxymorons.info/ Oxymorons.Info

An Oxymoron is a combination of contradictory or incongruous words, such as 'Cruel Kindness' or 'Jumbo Shrimp' (Jumbo means 'large' while Shrimp means 'small'). It is a literary figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory words, terms, phrases or ideas are combined to create a rhetorical effect by paradoxical means. This is a fun, interactive site to discuss oxymorons. The oxymoron of the day on the day I checked out this site was 'tax-refund'. Since I was in the process of getting things together for the tax man...it seemed an appropriate choice. Instructors could do a lot with these, and it would be a great way to start or end a class.