Sarcasm

Some people, including cross-cultural workers, believe that sarcastic remarks are cute, get a laugh, and do no harm.  Such remarks may get a laugh, but they may also do harm.  Webster’s Dictionary Unabridged defines sarcasm as “a taunting, sneering, cutting, or caustic remark.”  The dictionary notes that the word comes from the Greek “sarkasmos from sarkazein, to tear flesh like dogs, to speak bitterly, from sarx flesh.”  Rather than tearing physical flesh, such remarks may tear emotional “flesh.”  Such emotional wounds may take far longer to heal than physical wounds.