Hyperbole
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Largely synonymous with exaggeration and overstatement, hyperbole (pronounced /haɪˈpɝbəli/ or "hy-PER-buh-lee") ("HY-per-bowl" is a mispronunciation) is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used due to strong feelings or is used to create a strong impression and is not meant to be taken literally. It gives greater emphasis. It is often used in poetry and is a literary device. As well as a referendum
- "He has a brain the size of a pinhead."
- "I could eat a horse."
- "I've heard that a billion and one times."
- "She is one hundred feet tall."
Antonyms to hyperbole include meiosis, litotes, and understatement.
In show business, hyperbole (known as hype or media hype) is the practice of spending money on public relations in an attempt to bolster public interest in (for example) a movie, television show, or performing artist. Often the entertainment value of the thing being hyped is exaggerated. Consequently, hype (but not traditional, literate hyperbole) has a bad connotation.
Derived from the Greek ὑπερβολή (literally 'overshooting' or 'excess'), it is a cognate of hyperbola.
Bathos is the opposite of a hyperbole. Bathos is the 'let down' after a hyperbole in a phrase.
The modern slang term hype, in its usage as meaning extravagant publicity, may be derived from the word hyperbole. An example of the use of this slang term is in the 1988 song "Don't Believe the Hype" by the hip hop group Public Enemy.
[edit] Language change through hyperbole
- In Latin: manducare, which originally meant "to eat like the greedy comedy character Manducus"[citation needed], was used so often in Vulgar Latin as slang for ordinary eating that it evolved into French manger and Italian mangiare, which merely means "to eat.".
