Hyperbole
We use hyperbole /haɪˈpɜ:bəlɪ/ to exaggerate. We sometimes do this to emphasise something, to add humour or to gain attention. When we use hyperbole, we often make statements which are obviously untrue:
- We drove for hours without stopping and I nearly died of hunger.
- [two students talking about a university town]
- I have lived in Nottingham since I came here to study at the university. Been here for about a thousand years.
We often use hyperbole to stress a particular feature such as amount, size, shape and movement:
- I’ve got tons of homework to do.
- You have to wait for hours in that bank.
- Every car in America is at least ten times the size of ones in Europe.
- [A talks about unexpectedly discovering a special Sunday sale at a department store. The department store is called Woolworth’s.]
- A: There were millions of people in Woolworth’s.
- B: Really? On a Sunday!!
- There were millions of people in town on Saturday.