Sarcasm Is a Sharp Weapon, so Use it Carefully
Sarcasm can amuse, but it can also hurt
“Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit but the highest form of intelligence.” Oscar Wilde.
Dictionary.com defines sarcasm as:
1.harsh, cutting, or bitter derision, often using irony to point out the deficiencies or failings of someone or something.
2. a sharply ironical taunt; a sneering or cutting remark.
The word sarcasm derives from the Greek word "sarkazein,” which literally means “to tear or strip the flesh off.”
So, sarcasm is intrinsically offensive; it aims to deliver a snub and insult in biting language.
Sarcasm has to be used with care because it cuts and bleeds without mercy. It uses irony to carry its message—it means the opposite of what it says literally.
Example: The boss mocks an employee who came to a meeting five minutes late: “I’m glad you did not keep us waiting for too long.”
Sarcasm is risky when it’s used carelessly in dealing with personal relationships. If sarcasm is delivered verbally and directly to a sensitive person, it causes permanent damage to the relationship. Passive-aggressive behaviour is more hurtful than open hostility.
Sarcasm leaves a bad taste in the recipient’s mouth. They feel devalued and insulted. Belated and half-hearted apologies like, “I was only joking” will not assuage the victim.
There’s no doubt that sarcasm is a sign of intelligence and creativity. To say something and mean the opposite requires fertile imagination and cognitive prowess. Sarcasm also predicates problem-solving skills. Sarcastic people often use sarcasm as a coping mechanism during adversity.
Sarcastic exchanges between people who are sarcastic can be enjoyable banter. It’s like verbal joust where no one gets hurt in the end.
An example of sarcastic banter:
George Bernard Shaw: “I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend — if you have one.”
Winston Churchill: “Cannot possibly attend first night; will attend second, if there is one.”
Sarcasm is most effective when it’s employed as a satirical tool to criticise governments, policies, institutions, and society in general.
Lawrence Dorfman, co-author of The Sarcasm Handbook, said,
“Sarcasm has a much higher calling in the art and science of humour. It is the very fact that this critical sarcastic eye often pulls back the curtain of pretence to repeatedly expose that the emperor has no clothes. True sarcasm finds the truth, and gets a good laugh from it. It is not simply a path to comedy, it is a calling of greater responsibility.”
Some people have an inborn caustic tongue. They can be proud of their sarcastic ability but should use it prudently and mindfully, depending on the context. They can retort sarcastically if they are at the receiving end of a snide comment or shine in social gatherings by impressing others with their sharp wit and irony. They can use their sardonic humour to denounce social ills or institutional failures.If they are writers, they can use sarcasm as a literary device to enrich their creative output.
They should not, however, deploy sarcasm to ridicule or abuse others.
Sarcastic intelligence is best when it rides on kindness and serves a larger cause or when it’s used in self-defence. It’s obnoxious when it leaves people humiliated and devalued.
Sarcasm is a rare skill; use it cautiously.
Thanks for reading!
