Question

My doctor was unusually prompt today--he was only a half hour late! The sentence is an example of _____. A) Euphemism B) Irony C) Understatement D) Inflated Language

Answer 1

It is irony. Normally, when someone is unusually prompt, they are early. However, the speaker is using irony to say that her doctor is always late. 

Answer 2

Answer: Irony

Explanation: Irony is, by definition, the usage of language with a meaning opposite to what is expected. In this case, the adjective "prompt," normally attributed to someone who arrives early, modified by the adverb "unusually" before it sets the expectation of the doctor being overly punctual. When we learn that unusual promptness equates, for this person, to being half an hour late, we get the humorous emphasis that the speaker wanted to attribute to the doctor's lack of punctuality.