Verbal Irony means "saying the opposite of what one means"
(Arp, 113). It is often confused with sarcasm and satire,
the former of which means "simply bitter or cutting speech" and the latter
ridicules "of human folly or vice, with the purpose of bringing about reform
or at least keeping other people from falling into similar folly or vice"
(Arp, 114). An example on verbal irony:

  A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the
  family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish,
  and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the
  fourth day, especially in winter.

                              --From _A Modest Proposal_, Jonathan Swift [1729]