It’s literally hyperbole

It’s an inescapable part of casual conversation, and essential in marketing copy, but excessive use of hyperbole can damage your writing. Keep it under control. Literally.

A few days ago Manchester shoe-gazers and archetypal ‘lads’, Oasis, were playing a large outdoor gig at the city’s Heaton Park. One eager fan was quoted as saying, “It’s going to be literally mental.”

Literally? Crikey. Were the Gallagher brothers warned about this? They can be a tad eccentric but surely that’s a bit strong.

The recent England football (soccer if you’re reading this in the US or Oz) International against the mighty Andorra was notable for a healthy 6-0 win and a marvellous line from commentator David Pleat: “Andorra have come to defend. They’ve literally parked the bus on the 18 yard line.” Which must cut up the turf something awful when you think about it.

Actor Richard Gere, on the eve of the Palestinian election, announced “Hi, I’m Richard Gere, and I’m speaking for the entire world.” I don’t remember him asking me but provided you said yes for both of us I don’t mind too much.

Hyperbole, a deliberate exaggeration employed to emphasise a point (e.g. ‘It weighed a ton!’) is a perfectly reasonable device common in poetry and speech. Use it well and it conjures an image that says all it needs to without the need for detailed explanation. You may know nothing about football, but David Pleat’s comment above will leave you in no doubt about Andorra’s tactics.
But overuse, and particularly inappropriate use, can leave the user looking literally…well… a bit dim. Like our Oasis fan and Mr Gere.
Worse still, overuse of hyperbole can do real damage.

Take the recent press-launch of the Mercedes Vaneo. Before a sea of jaded journalists our host, the wonderfully, hyperbole-monikered Tad Smiley said, without trace of irony or sarcasm, “Can you feel the love in this room?”
This was a room full of motoring journalists, a breed who would have found it difficult to feel the love if you’d filled the stage with their own mothers.
Let’s also ignore the fact that it would be difficult to fill a room with any group of people willing to show that much affection for an expensive Renault Kangoo.
Let’s concentrate instead on Mr Smiley’s flagrant over-exaggeration.
He misread the crowd. He chose words that simply didn’t sit with the feelings of the people before him. In one sentence he built a wall between himself and his audience.

Would it be hyperbole to claim that Tad Smiley’s words damaged the launch of a car? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Certainly few accounts of the launch passed without reference to the host’s over-exuberant language. He certainly detracted from the launch – which surely amounts to the same thing.

Hyperbole can be useful. An exaggeration can sometimes create an image far more effectively than a careful explanation.
But it’s important to know your audience. Keep it appropriate and keep it in check.

You’d expect some rather flagrant hyperbole in a tv advert. You’d expect less from a news report – although you’d be surprised how much exaggeration creeps into the news. That word ‘literally’ for example. Reserve that word for the occasions when you really do mean ‘literally’ Otherwise you’ll just look silly. Literally.

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