Oxymoronic deception trend

From Friday’s WSJ:

To combat costs, Burger King is testing its $1 Whopper Jr. with smaller hamburger patties — down to two ounces apiece from 2.2 ounces.

From the Random House dictionary via Dictionary.com:

whop·per [hwop-er, wop-]
–noun Informal.
1. something uncommonly large of its kind …


jun·ior [joon-yer]
–adjective …
7. being smaller than the usual size: The hotel has special weekend rates on junior suites. …

Even if BK’s oxymoron once made sense, it’s clear that the latter half of the phrase is winning out over the former.

Of course, this is but the latest in a trend of deceptive price increases via reduced portions. My personal peeve is the vanishing half gallon of ice cream, led by Dreyers/Edy’s and Breyers. See this particularly profane exchange with the CEO of the Dreyer’s, as well as Breyers blaming Dreyer’s for the trend. (However, it appears this time Breyers was ahead of Dreyer’s).