>What in the world does this Mean
Letterman is a fellow whose rather fond of being smug and making ironic statements. I assume Fagan means that as soon as someone like Letterman achieves fame, irony loses whatever power it might have previously had.
> and can it be said without
>use of the word irony?
Not without meaning something entirely different.
>If the word irony is necessary, what in the world is irony?
In the simplest sense, saying the opposite of what is meant. You're an English professor, right? You know this already.
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