1 Jul 2009 · 11:06

“How “ironic” came to be defined as “coincidence” is anybody’s guess, but for our purposes, we like to refer to the following quote from the 1994 film Reality Bites. When Ethan Hawke’s character is asked to define “ironic,” he says, “It’s when the actual meaning is the complete opposite of the literal meaning.” Thank goodness for Hollywood.”

— from Words That Changed Their Meanings

Now if only people would stop using it to mean coincidence, life would be a sweeter place.