I've heard British people claim that American's don't 'get' irony but i've never heard it claimed that there's a difference between 'American and British irony.

I've heard British people claim that American's don't 'get' irony but i've never heard it claimed that there's a difference between 'American and British irony.' In my experience the irony police are usually unwilling to consider the full subtext of someone's statement when they describe it as ironic. For instance people often say things like 'ironic, isn't it - beautiful weather all week and then when we finally decide to throw a barbecue, it rains. ' This is of course just bad luck, but people like to jokingly invoke some sense of fate conspiring against them. Or, someone might consciously wear an 'ironic t-shirt', and people consciously recognise the intent, but the unspoken subtext that maintains the irony is that there is some other observer or potential wearer who would be unaware of the incongruity.