Is there a word for something that would be hilarious if it weren't true?

I've been thinking all day but nothing is coming to mind. I feel like I'd use it a lot if one existed.

Answer

tragicomic (adj), tragicomedy (n.)

tragicomedy
1) ...
2) ...
3) An incident or situation having both comic and tragic elements.

tragicomic adj.

Edit:
My downvoter doesn't think this a fitting word. I should provide some examples, to help everyone decide for themselves.

"In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proust (1913-22). Proust's great novel addresses just about every problem a person can face. ... Complexity, contradiction, flux are everywhere... The only real sin here is vulgarity, which is both ridiculous and depressing--i.e., tragicomic and, as I see it, horribly lifelike. http://orion.math.uwaterloo.ca/~hwolkowi/house.d/fivebesttragicomic.html

Like the 'wanderer' in Caspar David Friedrich’s painting of 1818, Axel Antas stands in the centre of Obstructed View (Boulderstone), (Treetop) and (Cliffedge) in solitary contemplation. But in a tragicomic twist his views of the landscape are almost completely obscured by artificial smoke clouds that rise around his body. REVIEW. Axel Antas, Rokeby, London

The tragicomic story of two brothers who survive by working as mechanics in a small garage in Sderot. Under the hail of missiles from Gaza, they comment the harsh reality of life in southern Israel during brotherly arguments oozing with black humour. a film distributor's site

Nothing in the episodes I’ve seen rivals the outlandish laugh riots of a Secret Service detail hiring Cartagena hookers... The mass-resignations, the political embarrassment, the congressional investigation — this is right in line with Vice President Meyer’s tragicomic milieu. washingtonpost

On the Jon Stewart show, when Obama adopted Stewart's... What we see is the tragicomic spectacle of the newsmedia and Democratic Party spinning the unspinnable... First appeared in print in The Rhinoceros Times, Greensboro, NC

The whole situation had brought me to the verge, or nearly, of physical collapse, and I started to hear my publisher’s injunctions—the company was keeping an eye on my work—as still more noise; a noise that made me desperate, and I found it ever harder to obey. Finally, indeed, I no longer obeyed at all.

The whole tragicomic affair found its culmination in year three: the third year of my living so absurdly in my Roman hut. My building, here again, as before in Milan, was thrown into the turmoil of renovation, for a whole pitiless year. Anna Maria Ortese, transl. Henry Martin

We all witnessed the tragicomic spectacle of Western Flotillas moored within walking distance to ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/guillermo-fesser/americans-in-palestinian-_b_3052770.html

"The tragicomic state of Arab democracy"
Abdeljabbar Adwan
The state of democracy in the Arab world is a tragicomedy. It would be funny if it weren’t so sad. Lebanonwire

—A Blog Devoted to Exposing America's Most Powerful Cult Leader and Political Power Broker—

"This Would Be Funny if It Weren't True"
I have come across information about the tragicomic life of former Bush appointee... Here's a passage from an 1988 article... :
... in which they literally prostrate themselves on the floor before a picture of Moon... blog

I guess on one tragicomic level, at least those jerk-off blog people are honest about their intentions? blog

I think it’s tragicomic that these actors (stevens and brown-findlay) think that they still have the support of the fans after ruining the show. Well, they don’t. tvline

[Edit2: noun & adjective separation, definition reformat]

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy. In both The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...

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