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Sardonicism (from Risus sardonicus, a convulsive laughter) is the expression of derision, cynicism or skeptical humor variously through comment, gesture or writing.

It is scornfully mocking or cynical and disdainfully or ironically humorous.


The etymology of sardonicism as both a word and concept is uncertain. The Byzantine Greek Suda traces its earliest roots to the notion of grinning (sairō) in the face of danger, or curling one's lips back at evil. One explanation for a later morph to its more familiar form and connection to laughter (supported by the Oxford English Dictionary) appears to stem from an ancient belief that ingesting the sardonion plant from Sardinia (Sardō) would result in convulsions resembling laughter and, ultimately, death.

A root form first appears in Homer as the Ancient Greek sardánios, Odysseus, smiling "sardonically" when attacked by one of his wife's erstwhile suitors upon his return to Ithaca.

From the sardónios evolved the sardonius, thence the sardonique, and ultimately the familiar English adjectival form, sardonic.

Hemlock water dropwort


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Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Sardonicism" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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