Irony, in its broadest sense, is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or event in which what appears, on the surface, to be the case or to be expected differs radically from what is actually the case. Profoundly inspirational ironic quotes will encourage growth in life, make you wiser and broaden your perspective.
If you’re searching for funniest quotes ever and best sarcastic quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of extremely funny baseball quotes, hilarious college quotes and funniest dating quotes.
Famous Ironic Quotes
I used to love Kurt Cobain, when he was telling people we’re a pop band. People would laugh, they thought of it as good old ironic Kurt. But he wasn’t being ironic. — Bono
I think it’s rather ironic these are the accusations management is making, when in fact union density is quite low nationally, … If the law was so weighted in favor of unions, then we wouldn’t have the situation we face today with a significant decline in union density across the country. — Kent Wong
He’s always been excruciatingly careful, which is ironic in his situation. — Paul Wolfowitz
That which has always been accepted by everyone, everywhere, is almost certain to be false. — Paul Valery
I was shocked. It’s ironic that the first week of school the same hurricane hits both of us. — Jordan Davis
What is your advice to young writers?”
“Drink, fuck and smoke plenty of cigarettes. ― Charles Bukowski
I have many friends who are both Mexican and Mexican-American and others who, I guess you would say, are somewhere in between. The ironic thing is that all three of those categories often exist inside of the same family. — Conor Oberst
What is ironic is that Allen Ginsberg’s importance was in its twilight for so many years that it took his death to bring it to the front page. He electrified an entire world! — Rita Dove
Everything is ironic to me. There are moments I find hysterical, but I’m probably the only one who would find that, except for a few people. — River Phoenix
All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone. ― Blaise Pascal
You know, I think it’s so ironic that we’re calling hard work, striving for excellence, don’t blame others, you know, don’t give up, that we’re calling these, quote, ‘Chinese values,’ ’cause I always thought of them as American values. — Amy Chua
I’m bad and I’m going to hell, and I don’t care. I’d rather be in hell than anywhere where you are. ― William Faulkner
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but don’t three lefts make a right? Two wrongs don’t make a right, but don’t two negatives make a positive? ― Andrew Clements
It’s also ironic that in the old days of tape and tape hiss and vinyl records and surface noise, we were always trying to get records louder and louder to overcome that. — T Bone Burnett
What’s ironic is that when we found ourselves coming together on these rescues, none of us knew the other had been abused. We discovered our common bond only after we started caring for the animals. — Dawn Rogers
Sometimes you’ll see people give performances in comedy with an ironic detachment where they’ll sort of be remarking on the character from outside of it. They’re sort of commenting as they’re playing the character. I think it’s hard not to do that. I’ve certainly done that. — Zach Woods
It is ironic that we focus on weight loss, when the real challenge is keeping weight off. Most popular diets work when it comes to losing weight, but few if any succeed when it comes to weight maintenance. — James Hill
Well, I think it’s kind of interesting how the Osmond name has been really seen on both sides of the pendulum. There’s obviously the bubblegum side, but for people who really know about music, it’s clear on the other side. As a matter of fact, I find it quite ironic that Metallica used to cover ‘Crazy Horses.’ It was a cutting-edge album. — Donny Osmond
I remember interviewing someone I actually felt bad for, and therefore didn’t want to take an ironic stance against him. It actually turned out to be a really funny piece. — Rob Corddry
It is respectable to have no illusions, and safe, and profitable and dull. — Joseph Conrad
There ain’t no devil, only God when he’s drunk. ― Tom Waits
I thought that it was more likely the opposite. I must have shut grief out. Found it in books. Cried over fiction instead of the truth. The truth was unconfined, unadorned. There was no poetic language to it, no yellow butterflies, no epic floods. There wasn’t a town trapped underwater or generations of men with the same name destined to make the same mistakes. The truth was vast enough to drown in. ― Nina LaCour
The thing is, comedy’s gone in a weird direction. People are really into ironic comedy and fakeness and cleverness. — Louis C. K.
It is probably the most unethical and dishonorable thing I’ve ever seen done here. I find it absolutely ironic that an organization that is set up to protect the contracts of its members would make a decision to turn around and declare null and void the contract it signed with its employee. — Paul Christie
I have a lot of respect for Drew and that family, … He’s a class guy, and I think it’s ironic that he got rejuvenated again. He played very, very well last week. I saw it on film and had a big smile on my face. Any time you’ve got a 140 quarterback rating, I know we’ve got our work cut out for us. He’s got a big arm and when he’s hot he is really hot. So we’re playing against a much, much better quarterback this week, and a better football team, so defensively we’ve got our work cut out for us. — Gregg Williams
Obviously, we are gravely concerned and very troubled by the increased level of activity. I find it ironic and incredibly disingenuous when politicians say this is in the best interest of the children when the research says otherwise. — Jennifer Chrisler
Morale was deteriorating and it was all Yossarian’s fault. The country was in peril; he was jeopardizing his traditional rights of freedom and independence by daring to exercise them. ― Joseph Heller
He understands all quarterbacks will throw to the other guy once in a while. It’s kind of ironic that as soon as he broke the (Kentucky) record for most passes without an interception (153) that the next one was intercepted. But it was just a matter of time. I’m just hopeful he’ll put together another 150 string without an interception. — Rich Brooks
…it’s just another one of those things I don’t understand: everyone impresses upon you how unique you are, encouraging you to cultivate your individuality while at the same time trying to squish you and everyone else into the same ridiculous mould. It’s an artist’s right to rebel against the world’s stupidity. ― E.A. Bucchianeri
I think its ironic that for once dad’s butt prevented the release of toxic gas — Nancy Cartwright
I think it’s quite ironic that someone who projects himself as a member of the Justice Team doesn’t believe he needs to obey the law, … If he would go to that extreme to get a spot on the ballot, what type of unethical behavior could we expect in the future? — Patricia Myers
Those who do not complain are never pitied. — Jane Austen
Scotsmen are metaphisical and emotional, they are sceptical and mystical, they are romantic and ironic, they are cruel and tender, and full of mirth and despair. — William Dunbar
And an anteater plus a large hungry mutant ant? An ironic way to die. — Bo Burnham
People who didn’t need people needed people around to know that they were the kind of people who didn’t need people. ― Terry Pratchett
We’re still deciding if we should push for a capital gains cut this year, … The ironic thing is that we do all these estimates on what kind of impact a cut would have and then the U.S. Treasury says ‘Oh, no. We can’t afford it.’ Well, we cut capital gains a few years ago and now we’ve got an enormous budget surplus. Much of it was generated by capital gains. — Trent Duffy
You who are on the inside, don’t condemn my lack of faith too quickly; you who are on the outside, don’t be too quick to mock my overcredulity; you who are indifferent, don’t be too quick to wax ironic about my perpetual hesitations. — Bruno Latour
Large increases in cost with questionable increases in performance can be tolerated only in race horses and fancy women. — Lord Kelvin
Irony is the form of paradox. Paradox is what is good and great at the same time. — Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
Wouldn’t it be ironic that the very year the World Potato Congress is bringing all these international visitors, we take famous potatoes off our plates? — Frank Muir
Everybody has that thing where they need to look one way but they come out looking another way and that’s what people observe. You see someone on the street and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw. It’s just extraordinary that we should have been given these peculiarities. Something is ironic in the world and it has to do with the fact that what you intend never comes out like you intend it. — Diane Arbus
What we’re really dealing with is the success of our city. It’s ironic if you think about it. — Jim Stuart
My mother was an angel,” I blurted. “A guardian angel.”
Kaidan began to chuckle.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“You. You’re a walking contradiction. Horns and a halo. I don’t believe it. ― Wendy Higgins
We find it ironic that we were kind of pressured to release these slots, and now they’re apparently not useful to them (American) anymore. The marketplace changes so rapidly, almost on a daily basis, so I’m not entirely surprised. No one should be. — Jenny Dervin
It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defence, we would sanction the subversion of one of those liberties which make the defence of our nation worthwhile. — Earl Warren
A lot of being a writer doesn’t have anything to do with writing. It’s ironic – I have to squeeze the books in, even though that’s what it’s all about. — Augusten Burroughs
When I was a boy, unconsciously, spontaneously I learned the art of telling ironic stories. — Dario Fo
He is very dry but also very funny… I think people tend to feel odd when I do my act. Unless you are an ironic person, it’s not a good place for you to be. — Colin Quinn
One of the functions of intelligence is to take account of the dangers that come from trusting solely to the intelligence. — Lewis Mumford
It is ironic that the legislation that may ultimately define his legacy, getting a lottery in North Carolina, could lead to his eventual downfall. — Hunter Bacot
I think at its best the American sense of humor is the same as the British sense of humor at its best, which is to be wry and ironic and self deprecating. — Simon Pegg
A lot of modern comedies are difficult to watch too, because they’re so ironic and so detached and so quote-unquote clever. They kind of keep you at arm’s length. They can be really funny, but they’re not really nourishing. — Ty Burrell
Health consists of having the same diseases as one’s neighbors. — Quentin Crisp
I think it’s ironic that the way the Chinese government prepares to host the United Nations Commission on Human Rights is by placing dissidents under house arrest. — Hu Jia
The ironic thing is I took Kole from a family name – we had a vote and they had a few names, but Kole won – and getting it spelled with a ‘K’ is a constant correction, too. I’ll never not be Warren Blosjo; it’s just my stage name. — Warren Kole
I make big objects that are simple, bright and clear, kind of ironic but hopefully funny because I love the shapes, and I get inspiration from toys and books, and I believe in art for everyone. — Florentijn Hofman
I got some luck in the last frame, which I thought was ironic because I thought I might win then. — Graeme Dott
It’s ironic that early on in the war with Afghanistan, the Americans and the British were saying, ‘We recognise there must be a Palestinian state,’ then they rapidly forgot about it. I think history will show that that kind of amnesia will come back to haunt you. — Tom Paulin
A lot of my friends are club people. It’s not me. It’s funny to represent that, because it’s not me. I don’t fit into a gay club setting. It’s just ironic that I represent that somehow. — Randy Harrison
Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied. — Jane Austen
If it weren’t pertaining to my charity, I probably would have cared less and just said he was a jerk. But when there is a chance for me to do something or for his signature to do something for charity, I won’t stand for that. It’s ironic that his dad (former big-league star Bobby Bonds) died of cancer too. — Ron Kittle
Stephen King writes a lot of things that are really charming and quirky, and that are more ironic than horror. — William H. Macy
Isn’t it ironic that pay, perks, and benefits all cost your company at the bottom line, but authentic recognition, especially when it’s most unexpected, costs very little and gives the most impressive return on investment? — Chip Conley
Mycologists are few and far between. We are under-funded, poorly represented in the context of other sciences – ironic, as the very foundation of our ecosystems are directly dependent upon fungi, which ultimately create the foundation of soils. — Paul Stamets
Only in the new millennium, in the waning days of ironic cultural breakdown could something like this have happened. He is now a brilliant actor. — Robert Thompson
The most ironic outcome of the black Civil Rights movement has been the creation of a new black middle class which is increasingly separate from the black underclass. — Henry Louis Gates
It is pretty ironic that the so-called ‘least advanced’ people are the ones taking the lead in trying to protect all of us, while the richest and most powerful among us are the ones who are trying to drive the society to destruction. — Noam Chomsky
I don’t watch much British television at all. I mean, it’s ironic because I used to work in it for years. — E. L. James
We find it ironic and alarming that the people who protect the building are paid less than everyone else who works at the building. — Matt Nerzig
It is a little ironic that one thing a babysitter should not do is sit on a baby. — Demetri Martin
Libraries are at a cultural crossroads. Some proffer that libraries as we know them may go away altogether, ironic victims of the information age where Google has subverted Dewey decimal and researchers can access anything on a handheld device. Who needs to venture deep into the stacks when answers are but a click away? — Sam Weller
I would say I’ve actually done a lot more comedy than I’ve done drama. It’s weird the way that worked out, because when I came out of theater school I took myself way too seriously, so it’s kind of ironic that I ended up sort of going down the comedy path. — James Roday
I think the only reason we’ve been here is because of special teams. So, it’s a bit ironic that special teams cost us the game. We give our guys freedom to make plays on the power play. Sometimes, it comes back to bit us. — Tim Whitehead
It is ironic that these companies claim that Qualcomm’s behavior has harmful effects on the mobile telecommunications sector when the facts are completely contrary. — Steve Altman
It always seemed to me ironic that the McCain campaign kept referring sneeringly to Obama’s meager resume – ‘a mere community organizer!’ – before he entered electoral politics. It was Obama’s experience as a community organizer that proved such a killer app when he applied that skill to the Internet. — Tina Brown
I did think it a little ironic that we can have two task force meetings and a public hearing and have a half-cent sales tax within six months but we still don’t have a clear direction on a nonsmoking ordinance, — Dave Parker
Sixty percent of our general budget goes to education. It would be ironic if electronic commerce erodes the science and math education that the visionary leaders of tomorrow need to keep this industry going. — Gary Locke
I think it’s slightly ironic that you’re a very glamorous person. You’ve just done a glamorous campaign and you’re a new mom sometimes that isn’t as glamorous. — Tim Vincent
One of the most difficult and ironic murder weapons is the life jacket. — Demetri Martin
It is ironic that American women now need to be fortified by the inspiration of the women of the Arab Spring, who risked so much to win basic human rights. — Tina Brown
I find it extremely ironic that Bush says that personal opinion should not be a tool in the interpretation of the Constitution, when he’s the one who’s lobbying for a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. If that doesn’t stem from personal opinion, I don’t know what does. — Jessi Klein
It is ironic that the Internet, an industry I participated in and contributed to the development of, is now potentially being blackballed as a mechanism of the delivery of the very product I’m now producing. — Michael Ballard
I think it’s amazingly ironic and callous he would be spending election night with a group of lobbyists. I don’t think he understands how unhappy constituents are with what appears to be a trade of principle for power. — Tom Campbell
It is so ironic that the White House itself might be the first violator of this law, which, my name is attached to, — Philip Agee
MAC gave me 55 lipsticks to test. These are the same lipsticks I got caught stealing by the police when I was 15. How ironic. — Eddie Izzard
It’s ironic that those who till the soil, cultivate and harvest the fruits, vegetables, and other foods that fill your tables with abundance have nothing left for themselves. — Cesar Chavez
To me, a bag in a tree is like a flag of chaos, and when I remove it, I’m capturing the flag of the other side. In the end, it doesn’t matter how ironic or serious or even effective on a larger scale bag snagging may be. — Ian Frazier
It’s quite ironic I suppose, it’s that thing about being in a group when you all start out as friends and then invariably end up hating each other. So I just thought they needed telling really, in case they were labouring under the apprehension that they were still friends. — Peter Hook
It’s ironic that in our culture everyone’s biggest complaint is about not having enough time; yet nothing terrifies us more than the thought of eternity. — Dennis Miller
It is kind of ironic how when I broke into professional hockey at 17 I was told that I was too small, and too slow, and that I wouldn’t make it to the NHL. And now it has flip-flopped, — Wayne Gretzky
One of the ironic things about the news of the business problems is that 2005 was the second worst weather year in the 12 years I’ve been running the place, but it was the second best year profit-wise. That speaks a lot to his management ability. — Terry Eames
Humor brings insight and tolerance. — Agnes Repplier
I had always had a little problem looking out for myself in love. I was afraid people would leave me. So I sort of clung and did everything possible to keep someone around. I didn’t have a hard talk with myself about who I was keeping around. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out. I clung to people like human life preservers. I thought i’d die if someone left me. Its ironic because now I’m the one who’s leaving. — Deb Caletti
Nobody gets irony anymore, as we are now living in the post-ironic age. Once George Bush gets a library, our irony is dead. — Eric Idle
I’d love to play someone who’s insane or something, just so I can go flake out. I like a superhero. I know that’s ironic. That’s where we are, but seriously, it’d be really cool to play a superhero. — Christian Serratos
I always found it ironic that media people were low man on the totem pole, and yet they handled all the money. That’s where things can go wrong in a big way. — Larry Chase
It is ironic that the Internet is a global phenomenon — yet if you’re not in Silicon Valley, it’s really hard to get a sense of the pace and the connections between those companies. So many of the ideas get transferred in hallway conversations, meetings over lunch and the casual interactions of the companies that are proximate. — Joe Kraus
There are people, particularly in the United States with which I am most familiar, who would say how ironic that Tehran would be the sponsor of an anti-terrorism conference, because there are people who say that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. — Cynthia McKinney
This is the first age that’s ever paid much attention to the future, which is a little ironic since we may not have one. — Arthur C. Clarke
I think it’s ironic that it’s happened that way. It just goes to show you how important they are to their offenses. — Mark Richt
There’s nothing more ironic or contradictory than life itself. — Robert De Niro
Sixty percent of all Indians live in urban areas, but nobody’s writing about them. They’re really an underrepresented population, and the ironic thing is very, very few of those we call Native American writers actually grew up on reservations, and yet most of their work is about reservations. — Sherman Alexie
So isn’t it ironic that Newt Gingrich is attempting to put his ethic problems behind him with a plan that requires a whole new investigation by the ethics committee? — David Bonior
It is kind of ironic that the rule was named after me, and I’m still here. It’s kind of like God is smiling at that one. — Allan Rule
It’s ironic that no matter where I go, I meet people from Brooklyn. I’m proud of that heritage. It’s where I’m from, who I am. — Howard Schultz
It’s ironic that while I was a worker in Detroit, which I left when I was twenty six, my sense was that the thing that’s going to stop me from being a poet is the fact that I’m doing this crummy work. — Philip Levine
Taking privacy cues from the federal government is – to say the least – ironic, considering today’s Orwellian level of surveillance. At virtually any given time outside of one’s own home, an American citizen can reasonably assume his movements and actions are being monitored by something, by somebody, somewhere. — Bob Barr
Die on a hilltop… eyeing the crows… waiting for your lids to close… but you want to watch as they peck your flesh… Ironic that they go for the eyes first… — Eddie Vedder
