Irony means the use of words to express
the opposite of the literal meaning, or
an incongruous result – something that
turns out the exact opposite of what one
would naturally assume.

Yes, but so many people use the word ‘irony’ incorrectly these days, that you are actually wrong for telling them they’re wrong. Apparently if a mistake becomes pervasive enough, the word suddenly doesn’t mean what it used to anymore.

‘Decimate’ is a prime example of this. Masnick constantly uses it in his articles here to mean ‘to completely destroy’ (as did Obama in last night’s State of the Union), when it actually means ‘to reduce by 10%’. Since that leaves 90% intact, being decimated really isn’t that serious of a blow.

However, the couple of times I’ve pointed it out, I’ve been told that I’m the one who’s actually wrong because no matter what the real definition of ‘decimate’ may be, most people think of it as a synonym for ‘annihilate’, so that’s what it now means.

I suspect a similar fate has befallen ‘irony’.