0

I remember when i was growing up we had many slang methods of describing things using the opposite terms. It wasn't always as simple as saying "bad" for something "good," but it seemed to be an expansion and variation on that.

Here are some examples:

"My mom made a cake for my birthday, and it was so crappy"

"Man, this test is great."

"Did you see her win the 50 yard dash? she's slow."

Is there a word for this?

Improve this question
  • If I had to coin a term to return to by short-hand in an essay describing that sort of ironic use of a word to mean it's antonym, I'd call them "flipped-adjectives". – Tom22 Jan 6 '17 at 4:15
1

Consider **antiphrasis**.

Definition from MW: the usually ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to the generally accepted meanings (as in “this giant of 3 feet 4 inches”)

Improve this answer
  • A quick search for 'antiphrasis' is the obvious way to check for a duplicate. Sadly, you posted before I did. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 5 '17 at 21:50

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.