Friday November 23, 2007
Fun with Hyperboles
By OH TEIK THEAM
HYPERBOLE: A figure of speech which uses extravagant exaggeration for emphasis or effect. It is not intended to be taken literally. Many idioms are hyperbolic, e.g. “a flood of tears”, “waiting for ages”, “costs an arm and a leg”.
The boxer
The heavyweight boxing champ was strolling in the park with his girlfriend when a runt of a mugger accosted them. The famous fighter gave the thief his wallet and watched as the mugger scurried away.
Thunderstruck, the girlfriend asked, “Why did you just surrender your wallet to such a weakling? You could easily have beaten him to a pulp.”
The boxer said, “The wallet contained one thousand dollars, and on principle I never fight for under ten million.”
The class trip
A school class visits the local police station. The pupils see pictures of the country’s 10 most wanted criminals.
A little girl points at a picture and asks if it really is the photo of a criminal.
“Yes,” replies the sergeant. “We want to capture him. He’s so vicious he’d give Hannibal Lecter sleepless nights.”
The girl says, “Why didn’t you keep him when you took his picture?”
The quarrel
The husband and wife are quarrelling and making more noise than a stampeding herd of bison.
“Don’t unleash the beast in me!” he warns.
She sneers, “I’m not afraid of a mouse!”
The two women
Two young women at a party are admiring a handsome man from a distance.
“He could cover himself with manure and still look ravishing,” the first woman says. “But I don’t think he is very intelligent.”
“Nope,” the second woman says. “He did not pay any attention to me, either!”
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