# Isn't it ironic? Plus, the man behind the guillotine Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/isn-t-it-ironic-plus-the-man-behind-the-guillotine Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/isn-t-it-ironic-plus-the-man-behind-the-guillotine.md Podcast: [Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700) Published: 2026-07-14T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/isnt-it-ironic-plus-the-man-behind-the-guillotine Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a513a08c2f78bb68972745a/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/isn-t-it-ironic-plus-the-man-behind-the-guillotine Duration seconds: 690 ## Resource 1202. This week, we look at the tricky question of what makes something ironic, including situational irony, verbal irony, and "skunked" words, with help from psychologist and author Roger Kreuz. Then, for Bastille Day, we look at how the guillotine got its name (ironically) from a man who actually opposed the death penalty. The "ironic" segment was by Roger Kreuz, associate dean and professor of psychology at the University of Memphis. It originally appeared on The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license . 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in   Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my   LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the   newsletter . 🔗  Find an edited   transcript . 🔗  Get   Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer:  Castria Communications Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by  Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media:  YouTube .  TikTok .  Facebook .  Threads .  Instagram .  LinkedIn .  Mastodon .  Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/isn-t-it-ironic-plus-the-man-behind-the-guillotine/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/isn-t-it-ironic-plus-the-man-behind-the-guillotine.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.