View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-verbal-irony-christopher-warner At face value, the lines between verbal irony, sarcasm, and compliments can be blurry. After all, the phrase 'That looks nice' could be all three depending on the circumstances. In the final of a three part series on irony, Christopher Warner gets into the irony you may use most often and most casually: verbal irony. Lesson by Christopher Warner, animation by Ben Pearce.