A deliberate exaggeration like “My history teacher's so old, he lived through everything we've learned about ancient Greece” is a hyperbole. It is defined as being “used without the intent of literal persuasion” but of heightening effect or producing comic effect (A Handbook to Literature). Now, imagine a passenger on his way to meet his girlfriend but being stuck at an airport because of bad weather. He tweets his girlfriend that ‘Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!’ He is certainly guilty of using a hyperbole in its proper sense, i.e. without the intent of literally blowing up the airport. But what if law enforcement officials arrest the guy, question him for seven hours, confiscate his computers and mobile phone and fine him £1,000 because he was “sending a menacing message” ( tweetcrime )? Let's euphemistically call it a hyper-hyperbole.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
English Eccentrics and Eccentricities
A deliberate exaggeration like “My history teacher's so old, he lived through everything we've learned about ancient Greece” is a hyperbole. It is defined as being “used without the intent of literal persuasion” but of heightening effect or producing comic effect (A Handbook to Literature). Now, imagine a passenger on his way to meet his girlfriend but being stuck at an airport because of bad weather. He tweets his girlfriend that ‘Crap! Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!’ He is certainly guilty of using a hyperbole in its proper sense, i.e. without the intent of literally blowing up the airport. But what if law enforcement officials arrest the guy, question him for seven hours, confiscate his computers and mobile phone and fine him £1,000 because he was “sending a menacing message” ( tweetcrime )? Let's euphemistically call it a hyper-hyperbole.
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