When did the hyperbole become standard speech to us?

I was listening to a comedian earlier today and he said something that made me think about the way most people talk in regular conversations with friends, family, strangers…everyone.

The word Hyperbole [hahy-pur-buh-lee] is a Greek-origination that is defined as:

noun, Rhetoric.

1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.

2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity….”.

It has an sister word that we never really hear used all that much — Litotes [lahy-tuh-teez, lit–uh-, lahy-toh-teez], another Greek-originated word that is likewise defined as:

noun, plural litotes. Rhetoric.

1. understatement, especially that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, as in “not bad at all.”.

While both forms of rhetoric are used in our daily life, it seems like hyperbole is used so much more. It was the best cheesecake or whatever; it was the worst smell or whatever; it was amazing; she was spectacular; he’s a genius. Pretty much this hyperbole is never the case – the cheesecake was ok, the smell was bad, it was alright, she was a good singer, your child made a macaroni house something we all made when we were 8 – he’s not a genius.

Come on people let’s be real. Put down your Twitter/Facebook and pick up the REAL.

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