innuendo
暗諷，英語修辭的一種，是一種溫和的反語。用一種比較隱晦曲折的方式表達對所提及的某事某物的不一致和不讚賞。
例子：He must take his readings in a bathroom.
他肯定是在洗澡間看的書。
irony
反語。英語修辭的一種，是用反話代替本意，達到強調效果的一種修辭。
比如，We are lucky, what you said makes me feel really good!
我們真走運，你的話讓我感覺棒極了！
sarcasm
諷刺，英語修辭的一種，諷刺程度比irony強烈。它是一種以奚落嘲諷為目的，打擊傷害客體感情的一種修辭。
例子： Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small files, but let waspes break through.
法律就像蜘蛛網一樣，能抓到小蒼蠅，但卻讓馬蜂（輕易）突破。
Innuendo is an allusive remark concerning a person or thing, especially of a depreciatory kind. It is a figure of speech in which moderate and allusive words and tone are used to make comments or pass criticisms upon a person or thing. Innuendo, like irony, enables a speaker to be impolite while seeming to be polite. But different from irony, innuendo does it in a more indirect way. It hints or implies something uncomplimentary without plainly saying it.
As in irony, insincerity may be more or less obvious in innuendo. In Grice’s terms, it may take the form of a breach of the Maxim of Quantity, or a breach of the Maxim of Quality.
Innuendo and irony differ from each other. With irony, the intended meaning is explicit: it is expressed by the opposite of the literal meaning of the word used. In contrast, with innuendo, the intended meaning is implicit and the understanding of it depends on the context. That’s why innuendo is also called ”a mild irony”. Compare the innuendo remarks with the plain statement in the brackets.
Innuendo involves implication, but not all implications are innuendos. Innuendo is generally used to criticize, satirize or ridicule a person or thing, though in an indirect and a mild way. But not all implications are intended for this purpose.
