An ELT Glossary : Hyperbole

Hyperbole :An exaggerated expression, which is not literally true, but is used to emphasise the degree of something. 


Examples:

I've asked you a million times not to do that!
She's got tons of money.
I'm starving - I could eat a horse.
I'm dying to see him again.


Hyperbole can be found in a variety of genres including informal conversation, as in the examples above. Other possibilities include:
  • political speeches, comment  and debate : “This is the worst hour of Trump’s entire presidency – no, make that entire life,” tweeted Norman Eisen... The Guardian 22.08.2018
  • literature : ...the world had turned to chaos  / silver armour polished to a blinding sheen /  an endless black bog  George R.R. Martin - A Game of Thrones
  • advertising : Redbull's slogan Redbull gives you wings; Mastercard's advertisement - Some things never change. For everything else, there's Mastercard
  • songs :  Killing me softly with his love Roberta Flack; We've got forever - Michael Jackson; Nobody does it better - Carly Simon.
and many other genres