Oxymorons (or oxymora) are literary figures of speech usually composed of a pair of neighbouring contradictory words (often within a sentence). However this is not always the case. The Webster Dictionary defines oxymoron as "a combination of contradictory or incongruous words".
Oxymorons can be used for dramatic effect, for example: Hell's Angels and deafening silence. They can also be comical, such as in civil engineer. Clearly this is not an oxymoron in the true and strict sense, but the suggestion that it is oxymoronic is humorous.
Perhaps the most well-known of all oxymorons is Jumbo Shrimp (at least in the US; not in the UK where a jumbo shrimp is known as a king prawn). Jon Agee takes this as the title of his superbly illustrated book of oxymorons Who Ordered the Jumbo Shrimp?, which is available through our online wordplay bookstore – oxymoron
The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be.
so i'll start with
awfully nice
