Irony Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old irony quotes, irony sayings, and irony proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

Irony is the gaiety of reflection and the joy of wisdom. Anatole France
If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom, and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too W. Somerset Maugham
Irony is a clear consciousness of an eternal agility, of the infinitely abundant chaos. Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel
Irony is one of my favorite aspects of life. Wes Studi
Neither irony or sarcasm is argument. Samuel Butler
Remember: the time you feel lonely is the time you most need to be by yourself. Life's cruelest irony. Douglas Coupland
I'd rather be partly great than entirely useless. Neal Shusterman
It is sometimes easier to be happy if you don't know everything. Alexander Mccall Smith
Common sense is the most widely shared commodity in the world, for every man is convinced that he is well supplied with it. Rene Descartes
Irony is Fate's most common figure of speech. Trevanian
Humor is everywhere in that there's irony in just about anything a human does. Bill Nye
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. Socrates
The supreme irony of life is that hardly anyone gets out of it alive. Robert A. Heinlein
Irony is a disciplinarian feared only by those who do not know it, but cherished by those who do Soren Kierkegaard
My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch Jack Nicholson
Irony is an insult conveyed in the form of a compliment Edwin P. Whipple
Humor brings insight and tolerance. Irony brings a deeper and less friendly understanding. Agnes Repplier
Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane. Philip K. Dick
The shortest distance between two points is under construction. Noelie Altito
Most people would rather be certain they're miserable than risk being happy. Robert Anthony
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers. Daniel J. Boorstin
People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world. Calvin
A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself. Jessamyn West
Irony is the hygiene of the mind. Elizabeth Bibesco
Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge Mason Cooley
Neither irony nor sarcasm is argument. Rufus Choate
Irony, I feel, is a very high form of morality. Jean Stafford
Eternity is a mere moment, just long enough for a joke. Herman Hesse
Small minds are concerned with the extraordinary, great minds with the ordinary. Blaise Pascal
Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real Tupac Shakur
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. Voltaire
Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves? Robin Williams
A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not. Steve Jobs
Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it's the only thing Albert Schweitzer
Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge. Mason Cooley
Pleasure in irony ... is an ego trip. Jessamyn West
Irony is the form of paradox. Paradox is what is good and great at the same time. Friedrich Von Schlegel
It's a tragic irony. The sick stayed well and the healthy became blind. Philip Yordan
You know, there's a certain irony in the fact that our lives and perhaps the lives of everyone on Earth may depend on Captain Patterson's sex appeal. Charles Beaumont
Irony is jesting behind hidden gravity. John Weiss
A taste for irony has kept more hearts from breaking than a sense of humor for it takes irony to appreciate the joke which is on oneself. Jessamyn West
Irony is an insult conveyed in the form of a compliment. Edwin P. Whipple
Sentimental irony is a dog that bays at the moon while pissing on graves. Karl Kraus
I am consistently inconsistent. Don Williams, Jr.
Clap an extinguisher upon your irony if you are unhappily blessed with a vein of it Charles Lamb
It's like rain on your wedding day.' Only if you're marrying a weatherman and he set the date. Ed Byrne
Define irony: a bunch of idiots dancing around on a plane to a song Garland Greene
A man is as young as the woman he feels. Groucho Marx
I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here. Stephen Bishop
Sometimes I need what only you can provide: your absence. Ashleigh Brilliant
It's always darkest before it turns absolutely pitch black. Paul Newman
History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. Abba Eban
From even the greatest of horrors irony is seldom absent. H.P. Lovecraft
I quote others only in order the better to express myself. Michel de Montaigne
Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied. Jane Austen
With every mistake, we must surely be learning. George Harrison
The irony of life is that those who wear masks often tell us more truths than those with open faces. Marie Lu
That will do extremely well, child. You have delighted us long enough. Let the other young ladies have time to exhibit Jane Austen
The struggle for a free intelligence has always been a struggle between the ironic and the literal mind. Christopher Hitchens
A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that "individuality" is the key to success. Robert Orben
If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you. But if you really make them think, they'll hate you. Don Marquis
Food is an important part of a balanced diet. Fran Lebowitz