Well, sort of. Shrimp refers to a fish, not a size. Is it still an oxymoron if the word has two meanings and the meaning used in the oxymoronic phrase is not contradictory of the other word in the phrase? Yes, I believe so. My boss is a hydromoron. The term oxymoron does not mean a contradiction in terms; rather, it means an apparent contradiction in terms.
Whether or not it is an actual nonsensical pair of words is not predetermined. The first example I had heard was weeping optimists. It's more than just a tasty crustacean! It's also a slangy way of calling someone small or short. So "jumbo shrimp" is an oxymoron. The term " oxymoron " comes from Greek, where "oxy" means "sharp or acute," and "moros" means "dumb or foolish.
It smashes together a root word meaning sharp and another root meaning dumb. That seems about right. In any case, we've been using oxymorons for hundreds of years. The earliest known instance was in , in Edward Reynolds' "A treatise of the passions and faculties of the soule of man":. Reynolds gives us a lot to work with there, including the Greek spelling of "oxymoron.
It's Mortibus vivimus and it means "living death. Sometimes oxymorons are used more for satire or sarcasm than for pure wordplay purposes. Not a paradox , though — the doctor is his mom. Here's a paradox by William Wordsworth, "The child is father of the man. Oh jumbo shrimp of the world, we're not calling you morons. You're oxymorons! The word itself is an oxymoron , a contradiction. It comes from the Greek oxys for "sharp" and moros for "stupid. Oxymorons gone mild wild:.
Washington Post. Both are contradictions, but a paradox is something to think on, and an oxymoron is a description, enjoyed in the moment then gone. Jumbo shrimp? Open secret?
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