Irony or Tragedy
Remember Alanis Morissette’s song “Ironic”? Bob Harris wrote about the song in his “New York Times” column: “If it rains on your wedding day, that’s a coincidence, not an irony. If you win the lottery and drop dead before claiming the money, it’s good luck followed by bad luck. If you meet the man of your dreams and then meet his beautiful wife, it’s a bummer. But if a song called ‘Ironic’ contains no irony, is that in itself ironic?”.
Now, I’m not 100% sure I’m applying the term any better than Alanis, but it seems to me that this two-panel comic strip is a perfect example of irony. Alanis mentioned a free ride when you’ve already paid – what about “buy 2 get 1 free” when there are only two items left on the shelf?