Examples of Hyperboles

You can find lots of examples of hyperboles without looking far. People often use hyperboles in common speech, and they are also found in literature.

What Is a Hyperbole?
A hyperbole is simply a phrase with an exaggeration that is meant to have impact. Hyperboles are not literal. They're meant to paint a funny picture or make a point. Here are some examples of hyperboles to illustrate the point and to help you identify them when they come up in speech or writing.

• I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse!
• You snore louder than a freight train.
• He sleeps like a log.
• "I have seen this river so wide it had only one bank." - Mark Twain
• She is older than the hills.
• That joke is so old, the last time I heard it I was riding on a dinosaur.
• If he talks to me, I will die of embarrassment.
• My backpack weighs a ton!
• I'm so busy trying to accomplish ten million things at once.
• His smile was a mile wide.
• Her eyes were as wide as saucers.
• It's raining cats and dogs.
• He was as big as an elephant!

Some insults use hyperbole, and it can be fun to make up your own. Use discretion and good humor so you don't truly offend someone; not everyone enjoys this kind of banter! Here are some examples of hyperbole insults:

• Your dog is so ugly, we had to pay the fleas to live on him.
• My town is so small, "now entering" and "now leaving" are on the same sign.
• Your brother is so fat, elephants throw peanuts at him.
• Your sister is so dumb, she thought the YMCA was Macy's spelled wrong.