Why “sardonicity” is a great word
SARDONICITY — [Noun] A scornfully mocking or cynically humorous affect; the quality of grim, derisive amusement. From the adjective 'sardonic' (meaning scornfully mocking, from the Latin 'sardonicus', and ultimately from the Greek 'sardonios', traditionally associated with a bitter, scornful laughter) + the noun-forming suffix '-ity' (from Latin '-itas', denoting a state or condition). Unlike sarcasm, which is a direct, cutting remark, or irony, which highlights a structural contrast, sardonicity is a pervasive, grimly amused posture toward existence. It is the curl of a lip in a ruined ballroom, the dry observation made from the ashes of a burned bridge, and the quiet chuckle that greets the predictable, farcical collapse of grand plans—the philosophical armor of one who has seen the joke and knows the punchline is always bitter.