While I respect your sadness at his passing
@sallye818, calling Rush Limbaugh a “master of sarcasm” is apt, but most who understand the meaning of sarcasm would not consider it a compliment. The definition of sarcasm below describes him perfectly...
Sarcasm is a form of verbal irony that
mocks, ridicules, or expresses contempt. It’s really more a
tone of
voice than a
rhetorical device. You’re saying the opposite of what you mean (verbal irony) and doing it in
a particularly hostile tone.
Sarcasm comes from the Greek words “sark” meaning “flesh,” and “asmos” meaning “to tear or rip.” So
it literally means “ripping flesh” – a pretty bloody image for a type of speech that we use all the time!
<snip>
Sarcasm doesn’t always have to be vicious or mean. It can also be humorous, playful, or (as in this example) self-deprecating.
^^
But that wasn’t how Limbaugh used sarcasm.
Sarcasm: Definition and Examples | LiteraryTerms.net
More at this link:
sarcasm
Unfortunately, Limbaugh’s many years on the radio expressing contempt, ridicule, and mockery with hostility have emboldened a large segment of the conservative population, including the former President, to speak the same way or at least tolerate it. Kindness and empathy have been trampled on and are mocked as weak. That was not how I remember political discourse before Limbaugh’s show began. There has been a gradual erosion of civility and compassion to our detriment.
JMO MOO
