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A hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration used to make a point. It is like the opposite of “understatement.” It is from a Greek word meaning “excess.”Hyperboles can be found in literature and oral communication. They would not be used in nonfiction works, like medical journals or research papers; but, they are perfect for fictional works, especially to add color to a character or humor to the story.Hyperboles are comparisons, like similes and metaphors, but are extravagant and even ridiculous.

Hyperboles Add Excitement and Fun

A boring story can come to life or become comical with the use of a hyperbole. Some examples of hyperboles include:

“I’ve told you a million times”

“It was so cold, I saw polar bears wearing jackets”

“She is so dumb, she thinks Taco Bell is a Mexican phone company”

Here are some common examples of hyperboles:

I am so hungry I could eat a horse.

I have a million things to do.

I had to walk 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill.

I had a ton of homework.

If I can’t buy that new game, I will die.

He is as skinny as a toothpick.

This car goes faster than the speed of light.

That new car costs a bazillion dollars.

We are so poor; we don’t have two cents to rub together.

That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding on a dinosaur.

They ran like greased lightning.

He's got tons of money.

You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Her brain is the size of a pea.

He is older than the hills.

Hyperboles in Media and Literature

If used properly, a hyperbole can encourage consumers to buy products.

Marketing research from Roger J. Kreuz, PhD for the Military Personnel Research Science Workshop in June 2001 in Memphis TN, has shown that 75% of ads use at least one figure of speech. Examples of hyperboles in advertising include:

“adds amazing luster for infinite, mirror-like shine” (Brilliant Brunette shampoo)

“It doesn't get better than this” (Oscar Meyer)

A great example of hyperbole in literature comes from Paul Bunyan’s opening remarks in the American folktale Babe, the Blue Ox:

“Well now, one winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night, it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard. People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about the night before.”Another example comes from "As I Walked Out One Evening" by W.H. Auden:

"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you till China and Africa meet,And the river jumps over the mountainAnd the salmon sing in the street,I'll love you till the oceanIs folded and hung up to dryAnd the seven stars go squawkingLike geese about the sky."Following are some short hyperboles from literature:

The skin on her face was as thin and drawn as tight as the skin of onion and her eyes were gray and sharp like the points of two picks.

It was not a mere man he was holding, but a giant; or a block of granite. The pull was unendurable. The pain unendurable.

People moved slowly then. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County.

It's a slow burg. I spent a couple of weeks there one day.

Why does a boy who’s fast as a jet take all day and sometimes two to get to school?

Litotes Definition

Litotes, derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions.

For example, using the expression “not too bad” for “very good” is an understatement as well as a double negative statement that confirms a positive idea by negating the opposite. Similarly, saying “She is not a beauty queen,” means “She is ugly” or saying “I am not as young as I used to be” in order to avoid saying “I am old”. Litotes, therefore, is an intentional use of understatement that renders an ironical effect. Common Litotes Examples

In everyday life, it is common to experience litotes in conversations although not many people are aware of this term and its usage. Below are a few examples of litotes from daily conversations:

They do not seem the happiest couple around.

The ice cream was not too bad.

New York is not an ordinary city.

Your comments on politics are not useless.

You are not as young as you used to be.

I cannot disagree with your point of view.

William Shakespeare was not a bad playwright at all.

He is not the cleverest person I have ever met.

She is not unlike her mother.

Ken Adams is not an ordinary man

A million dollars is not a little amount.

You are not doing badly at all.

Your apartment is not unclean.

Interestingly, the use of understatement in the above litotes examples adds emphasis to the ideas rather than decrease their importance. This is due to the ironical effect produced by the understatement.

Examples of Litotes from Literature

In literature, writers and poets use this type of figure of speech in their texts in order to communicate novel ideas to readers vividly.

Example #1

“I am not unaware how the productions of the Grub Street brotherhood have of late years fallen under many prejudices.” (Jonathan Swift, A Tale of a Tub)

Now just see how Swift has used double negatives to emphasize the point that he is totally aware of it. The irony is that he is aware but he is saying it as if he is unaware that he is not.

Example #2

“Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if I had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.”

Now read this short piece “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost very carefully. Calling the destruction caused by the “ice” as “great” is balanced by an opposing statement “would suffice” that is an understatement.

Example #3

“Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others.”

This line has been taken from “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; An American Slave” by Frederick Douglass himself. He was an African-American social reformer and a writer. He has effectively used litotes to stress that his point that even slaves used to seek dominance over other slaves by stressing the point that their respective masters were much better than those of the other slaves.