self-irony
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self-irony
The ability to mock oneself, one's own weaknesses, and mistakes in a humorous and detached way.
Mit einer gesunden Portion Selbstironie meisterte er die peinliche Situation.
With a healthy dose of self-irony, he mastered the embarrassing situation.
The word is made up of 'Selbst-' (self-) and 'Ironie' (irony). The prefix 'Selbst-' means that something refers to one's own person, so literally 'irony about oneself.'
Sein Humor ist geprägt von einer großen Portion Selbstironie.
His humor is shaped by a large dose of self-irony.
'Selbstironie' (self-irony) is often combined with verbs that express possessing or showing a quality. Common verbs are 'haben' (to have), 'besitzen' (to possess), 'zeigen' (to show), or 'beweisen' (to prove).
Er hat bewiesen, dass er viel Selbstironie besitzt.
He proved that he has a lot of self-irony.
Because self-irony is seen as a quality that one can have more or less of, it is often combined with quantity expressions such as 'eine Prise' (a pinch), 'eine Portion' (a dose/portion), or 'ein Mangel an' (a lack of).
Eine Prise Selbstironie hätte ihm in dieser Situation gutgetan.
A pinch of self-irony would have done him good in this situation.
