bait vs irony

bait

noun
  • A light or hasty luncheon. 

  • Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests. 

  • A packed lunch. 

  • A post intended to get a rise out of others. 

  • Anything which allures; something used to lure or entice someone or something into doing something 

  • A small meal taken mid-morning while farming. 

  • Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net. 

  • A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment. 

  • A miner's packed meal. 

verb
  • To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass. 

  • (of a person) To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey. 

  • To attract with bait; to entice. 

  • (of a horse or other animal) To take food, especially during a journey. 

  • To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport. 

  • To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line. 

adj
  • Well-known; famous; renowned. 

  • Obvious; blatant. 

irony

noun
  • An ironic statement. 

  • Contradiction between circumstances and expectations; condition contrary to what might be expected. 

  • Dramatic irony: a theatrical effect in which the meaning of a situation, or some incongruity in the plot, is understood by the audience, but not by the characters in the play. 

  • Socratic irony: ignorance feigned for the purpose of confounding or provoking an antagonist. 

  • The quality of a statement that, when taken in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of, what is written literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, often in a humorous context. 

adj
  • Of or pertaining to the metal iron. 

  • The food had an irony taste to it. 

How often have the words bait and irony occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )