There is a term for this: "irony of fate" [1]. Which is presumably where the confusion with irony (as a stand-alone word) comes from. Interestingly enough, th

There is a term for this: "irony of fate" [1]. Which is presumably where the confusion with irony (as a stand-alone word) comes from. Interestingly enough, the term exists in a literal translation in other languages, too: "Ironie des Schicksals" in German, "ironie du sort" in French, and "ironia della sorte" in Italian. [1] http://www.bartleby.com/81/8963.html http://www.bartleby.com/81/8963.html