Hi everyone, could you guys help me about the meaning of "jumbo shrimp", it's an oxymoron. Thank you:)

jumbo = huge
shrimp = ?

Large shrimp. They are good.

Jumbo means large and shrimp means small, which are two opposites.

However, in the context its not. As pready says an oxymoron is to words seemingly opposite in meaning. However, in this context shrimp does not mean small, it refers to a type of shellfish. The jumbo refers to a variety of this type of shellfish. So in that context it doesn't qualify.

Jeez guys! Jumbo shrimp as an oxymoron was made famous by George Carlin. I'm sure you can find a video clip.

While done in comedy, it is truly not a oxymoron as used, because shrimp as used here, has nothing to do with small or size.

Our asking person is from Vietnam, and probably doesn't realize that 'shrimp' is an American idiom meaning 'small.' Children are often called shrimps in sort of an endearing way, but still meaning 'You are too small to do that.' Sometimes adults are too, but more derogatorily for men.

Jumbo meaning large might come from the name of a famous elephant? Or was the elephant named Jumbo after the word meaning big?

Shrimp, shellfish, are graded according to size - from small to colossal. The smaller ones are generally used in salads and the larger ones in shrimp cocktails. The oxymoron aspect is purely unintentional.

My favorite oxymoron - military intelligence.

Poor Carlin is rolling over in his grave.

Carlin was an amazing talent. Here's a YouTube with Arsenio Hall where George ad-libbed a song from his youth in Morningside Heights in Manhattan which he called "Upper Harlem". Arsenio and the audience were knocked out. The song is "Cherry Pie" from the early days of rock n roll.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5YCQePkVfM

Oi! You all are making a mountain out of a molehill (oxymoron).

Yes, there's a comedy act by George Carlin about Jumbo Shrimp being an oxymoron, but unless the OP is asking about comedy I don't see how that applies to his question.

Yes, the word shrimp can mean someone or something little. But in the context it's being used in, shrimp is a type of food. It's shellfish. It's the name we gave a certain shellfish that we eat.

In this case Jumbo shrimp means large shrimp (the food). Not large small. It's a type of food, and not an oxymoron.

Stop confusing the poor OP by mentioning comedy acts and comedians he's likely never heard of! Just answer the darn question! Geesh!`

But the OP was the one who said it's an oxymoron, and Carlin is the one who 'invented' it as one, during a bit using a bunch of oxymorons, most of which aren't real oxymorons, but that's all the quibbling of word experts.

It is an oxymoron --

jumbo = big
shrimp = small

Also, open secret, controlled chaos, alone in a crowd, same difference.

I disagree, it's not an oxymoron because of the context. In this case shrimp is the food, not shrimp=small. Therefore it's not an oxymoron. It's jumbo shrimp the food, not big small.

A definition of shrimp is a diminutive or insignificant person. From dictionary.reference.
com. (Am on my Kindle, cant c/p.)

from wikipedia:
Terms falsely called oxymora for rhetorical effect[edit]

Although a true oxymoron is "something that is surprisingly true, a paradox", Garry Wills has argued that modern usage has brought a common misunderstanding^[4] that "oxymoron" is nearly synonymous with "contradiction". The introduction of this misuse, the opposite of its true meaning, has been credited to William F. Buckley.^[5]
Sometimes a pair of terms is claimed to be an oxymoron by those who hold the opinion that the two are mutually exclusive. That is, although there is no inherent contradiction between the terms, the speaker expresses the opinion that the two terms imply properties or characteristics that cannot occur together. Such claims may be made purely for humorous effect. Comedian George Carlin popularized many examples, such as "military intelligence", "freedom fighters", and "business ethics". Another example is the term "civil war", which is not an oxymoron, but can be claimed to be so for humorous effect, if "civil" is construed as meaning "polite" rather than "between citizens of the same state". Alternatively, such claims may reflect a genuinely held opinion or ideological position. Well-known examples include claims made against "government worker", "honest broker", "educational television", "Microsoft Works", and "working from home".

And here's to all of us sitting at home at our computers on New Year's Eve!
I have plenty of entertainment in the background - TV, dog, cat.

Thank you you guys, it's really helpful and so is the comedies:))))))))