Although the figure of irony has enjoyed extensive attention through important contributions to
the diverse literatures addressing figurative thought and language it still remains relatively
in the background compared to other figures such as metaphor and metonymy. The present volume
together with a 2017 collection by Angeliki Athanasiadou and Herbert L. Colston aims to the
further exploration of verbal and situational irony its gestural accompaniments its
comprehension and interpretation its constructional diversity and its cooperation with other
figures such as metaphor and hyperbole. The present volume is a highly interesting collection
of chapters dealing with both theoretical investigations and descriptive applications of a
central figure pervading human thought and language. Its aim is to draw more attention to
irony's diversity and its concomitant connections to other aspects of figurativeness.
