In this excerpt from Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest," which sentence contains an example of verbal irony? Algernon. Most women become like their mothers. Have you ever noticed? And most men, like their fathers. It's fascinating! Jack. Yes. Quite so. It's a very clever observation for you to make. Algernon. It is, isn't it? I find that cleverness is something to strive for. Something that we could use more of in civilized society. What do you think of it? Jack. I am sick to death of cleverness. Everybody is clever nowadays. You can't go anywhere without meeting clever people. The thing has become an absolute public nuisance. I wish to goodness we had a few fools left.​