Tell if Someone Is Being Sarcastic

Sarcasm plays a big part in everyday American social interaction and conversation. It occurs when someone says something contrary to what they believe/feel for the purpose of being funny. However, it's not always easy to tell whether or not someone is being sarcastic. Below are insightful tips to help you identify sarcasm.

Steps

Using Verbal Cues

  1. Listen for overly positive or negative language. Many sarcastic remarks are completely over-the-top hyperbole, making them easy to identify. Typically a positive statement will be used when a negative response is expected, and vice versa.
    • An example of highly positive language would be: "That's the most gorgeous hat I've ever seen!" when the speaker really means, "No, I do not like that hat."
    • An example of highly negative language would be: "Well that's one way to really blow an exam!" as opposed to, "Congratulations on your top grade."[1]
  2. Listen for intense verbs, adjectives and adverbs. You can expect sarcastic remarks to contain words such as "love," "great," "best," "most," or "really." Also listen for unnatural pairings of adjectives with nouns, like "soft as a rock" or "sharp as a bowling ball." [1]
    • For example: "I just love the sweater grandma knit for me."
    • Translation: "I hate the sweater grandma knit for me."

Using Non-Verbal Cues

  1. Watch out for facial expressions. Watching people's faces while they talk is a good way to pick up on sarcasm. Often a sentence that may sound completely genuine can be intended sarcastically when accompanied by a specific facial expression.
    • Lifted eyebrows, rolling eyes and smirking mouths are some common tell-tale signs of sarcasm.[1]
    • Also look out for other facial expressions which indicate disgust, irritation or apathy.[2]
  2. Watch out for sarcastic gestures. Although gestures such as head nods, body leans and thumbs-up signs may not be sarcastic in themselves, when combined with other verbal and non-verbal cues they are highly likely to indicate sarcasm.[1]

Using Context

  1. Listen for out of place comments. If you hear something that seems completely contrary in the context of the conversation, you might be hearing sarcasm.
    • Example: If you spend most of a conversation talking about how terrible your wife's cooking is, and then end with, "She made the best chicken casserole last night that I just had to bring some for lunch," listeners will probably know that you didn't care for it at all.
    • Example: If you hear someone say "I'm glad I brought my suntan lotion," on a miserably wet day, they're almost certainly being sarcastic.
  2. Watch out for personal/subjective topics. Most sarcastic comments concern the speaker's emotions, offer judgments, or criticize something.[1]
    • For example, if the speaker is describing how to get to the airport, the remark is probably not going to be sarcastic, but if the speaker is talking about how he hates flying, there's a much better chance that the remark will contain sarcasm.
  3. Sarcasm is often used when the answer to a question seems obvious to at least one participant in the conversation.
    • Question: What would you like me to do now?
      Answer: Put your feet up and rest while we take care of all the work.
    • Question: Are we there yet?
      Answer: Yes, it's just around the corner and another {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} ahead.

Using Intonation and Stress

  1. Listen for nasal tones. The use of a nasal tone may indicate sarcasm.
    • When English speakers express sarcasm with the word "Thanks!", they often use a nasal tone.
    • Some researchers say that this nasal tone shows a connection between sarcasm and extreme disgust.[2]
  2. Listen for elongated words. Sometimes words are drawn out for effect when the speaker is trying to convey sarcasm.[2]
    • Example: "Well, excuuuuuse me!"
    • Example: "You're sooooo welcome."
  3. Listen for stressed adjectives. A speaker will often place stress on certain adjectives in order to convey sarcasm.
    • For example, if you hear someone say "Aunt Prunella sent me this gorgeous pink and green paisley tie," the stress on the word 'gorgeous' would usually indicate sarcasm.
    • The stressed word may also be communicated at a lower pitch than the other words in the sentence for added emphasis.
  4. Listen for a "flattening" of the voice. This is when speakers create a unique sarcastic effect by totally eliminating all vocal expression.[1]
    • Such flattening is usually complimented by a monotone pitch and a generally bland delivery.
    • This is particularly effective with words that normally express excitement, such as "Wow." or "Yay."

Tips

  • If you aren't sure, just ask if they were joking.
  • Also try asking the sarcastic person to give you a signal when they are being sarcastic. For example: they could wink any time they make a sarcastic comment.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 http://voices.yahoo.com/how-tell-if-someone-being-sarcastic-2128736.html?cat=72
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.howstuffworks.com/sarcasm1.htm
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