Commentary The words “irony” and “ironic,” not to mention “ironically,” are often to be heard in the mouths of the media, but I don’t think many of those who use them really know what they mean. At its most basic, irony is the process by which the meanings of words change, often to the opposite of their semantic meaning (when we call it “sarcasm”), according to the context in which they are used. One of my favorite illustrations comes in Carol Reed’s 1940 film, “Night Train to Munich,” starring Rex Harrison as a sort of proto-James Bond, about derring-do behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany at the outbreak of war. The movie includes a scene in which a Nazi guard is interrogating a man named Schwab: “It’s been reported to me that you’ve been heard expressing sentiments hostile to the fatherland,” says the guard. “I warn you, Schwab, this treasonable …