Sarcasm.

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Why does everyone think Aspies don't get it? Is it because of the literal thinking aspect? I think that's just because Aspies like to take in information in a concise manner but I don't think it means that they can't understand sarcasm. I see a lot of dry humor on these boards, that's always been my kind of humor. If anything I am more in tune with offbeat humor and sarcasm and less in tune with conventional humor. Maybe people just think Aspies aren't humorous because they don't laugh at things that aren't funny.

I use sarcasm, myself. I recently went through a phase where I used it far too much. But, I still have a little trouble spotting it from others, sometimes. I understand it, though. Irony can get too complex for me. Depends what it is.

Sarcasm isn't all that hard to learn. I think most of the Aspies who don't get it are probably young ones who will suss it out eventually.

I get sarcasm. I sometimes get irony. Most of the time, I don't get puns.

The thing with me, is that I'm a no-nonsense person, and I don't laugh at anything that I don't find funny. I don't even laugh at sexual jokes, or Austin Powers anymore, because I don't think that stuff is funny. I've picked up with my tastes and morals, where I've left off in 1996, when I was innocent and pure.

Getting sarcasm is mostly about understanding the connotations of different tones of voice, which I think I'm fine at - I've made small mistakes with it before, but 98% of the time I have no problem.

And, yes, I'm sarcastic myself. It annoys my mum a lot.

90 % of the time I don't get sarcasm or irony. It's a language I don't understand.

I apparantly understand sarcasm most of the time

When I use sarcasm people end up angry with me or in tears

I assert therefore, I don't QUITE get it

I am very good at sarcasm and have been most of my life--I grew up in a family where humor was highly prized and sarcasm was how most of us expressed it. I think the difference between me as an aspie and my NT relatives is that sometimes I don't see where the line is, when to cut the sarcasm. This was much worse as kid and often I would get in trouble for inappropriate humor much the same way that I've read other aspies had trouble with inappropriate reactions of other kinds.

Even today I can get myself in trouble with it, if I'm not careful. My humor has been described as being "as dry as the Sahara". And where other aspies may blurt out a brutally honest observation about a person or an event, I will often frame the same observation in the language of sarcasm--making it even more abrasive to others. One of my biggest challenges then hasn't been to "get" sarcasm, but to get when it's appropriate. I can almost always make people laugh...I have to work at not pissing them off.

I'm pretty sure I've always understood the concept of sarcasm and irony because like most people I use it myself.

Yet occasionally people will make a really dry, possibly sarcastic, remark and I'll have no idea whether they're serious or not. It can be tough to determine from context alone, especially with people I hardly know. It's a little worrisome to interpret something as a joke when there's the slightest possibility that they could actually be serious.

I also encounter the situation where someone tells a sarcastic joke that I don't find funny and they'll feel like they have to tell me "I was joking". People don't like getting zero feedback after they tell a joke. They at least expect a half-assed smile for acknowledgment. Anything less is awkward. I think what happens is I get so deeply engaged in whatever the topic of conversation is about that I completely miss those "this is time for some comic relief" moments and by the time I realize I failed to acknowledge their joke it's already too late.

I get it. I just don't like it.