June 1, 2009
Erik B. Anderson
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
Erik B. Anderson
Hackettstown, NJ 07840
Mary Huot
c/o Huoghton Mifflin Company
222 Berkeley St.
Boston, MA 02116
Dear Ms. Huot:
I am doing some research for my autobiography and I need your help.I need to know if the word "ironically" is used incorrectly in the three short articles I am including in this letter.
An article on Wikipedia says:
The American Heritage Dictionary’s usage panel found it unacceptable to use the word ironic to describe mere unfortunate coincidences or surprising disappointments that "suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly."
c/o Huoghton Mifflin Company
222 Berkeley St.
Boston, MA 02116
Dear Ms. Huot:
I am doing some research for my autobiography and I need your help.I need to know if the word "ironically" is used incorrectly in the three short articles I am including in this letter.
An article on Wikipedia says:
The American Heritage Dictionary’s usage panel found it unacceptable to use the word ironic to describe mere unfortunate coincidences or surprising disappointments that "suggest no particular lessons about human vanity or folly."
This is my argument:
1. The fact that James Titus was wrongly convicted of rape and murder, served 19 years in prison and lived in Hackettstown for almost 50 years is a "surprising disappointment."
2. The fact that the scene of the crime burned down on Halloween night, 1899, is another "surprising coincidence." [The HackettstownHistory.com article "Fall Into Halloween" is no longer online].
and
3. The fact that Marilyn Manson torched his drummer's drum kit on the night before the last show of the tour in the winter of 1995 is...well it's not a coincidence or a surprise knowing what I know about the last night of the tour that ended in December 11, 1995, but it most certainly does not suggest( any particular lessons about human vanity or folly.
So, the word ironically is used incorrectly in each of these documents, and the reasons for these events have not been adequately explained. I believe the real answers to these questions are very important indeed.
Can you confirm if I have used the correct argument to determine that it is incorrect usage already? Is there a formal process to request a "ruling"?
I cannot ask Webster's, because the third definition of irony in Webster's New World College Dictionary: Fourth Edition (page 755) calls it: "a combination of circumstances or a result that that is the opposite of what is or might be expected or considered appropriate [an irony that the firehouse burned]."
I appreciate the fact that you are there. This is very important to me on a personal level. Is there anything more that I can do?
Sincerely,
Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782
************
1. The fact that James Titus was wrongly convicted of rape and murder, served 19 years in prison and lived in Hackettstown for almost 50 years is a "surprising disappointment."
2. The fact that the scene of the crime burned down on Halloween night, 1899, is another "surprising coincidence." [The HackettstownHistory.com article "Fall Into Halloween" is no longer online].
and
3. The fact that Marilyn Manson torched his drummer's drum kit on the night before the last show of the tour in the winter of 1995 is...well it's not a coincidence or a surprise knowing what I know about the last night of the tour that ended in December 11, 1995, but it most certainly does not suggest( any particular lessons about human vanity or folly.
So, the word ironically is used incorrectly in each of these documents, and the reasons for these events have not been adequately explained. I believe the real answers to these questions are very important indeed.
Can you confirm if I have used the correct argument to determine that it is incorrect usage already? Is there a formal process to request a "ruling"?
I cannot ask Webster's, because the third definition of irony in Webster's New World College Dictionary: Fourth Edition (page 755) calls it: "a combination of circumstances or a result that that is the opposite of what is or might be expected or considered appropriate [an irony that the firehouse burned]."
I appreciate the fact that you are there. This is very important to me on a personal level. Is there anything more that I can do?
Sincerely,
Erik B. Anderson
Independence Township, New Jersey
Established 1782
************
Click on image to read letter.
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