Gransnet forums

Pedants' corner

Hyperbolic Boris

(13 Posts)
grumppa Fri 04-Sep-20 18:38:48

I am being driven mad by our ineffable Prime Minister overloading every statement he makes with exaggeration and hyperbole: "world-beating, overwhelming", etc. Has he forgotten all he ever learnt about composition and rhetoric in the course of the classical education he is supposed to have received?

Whitewavemark2 Fri 04-Sep-20 19:27:36

I think he does it to try to impress with how intelligent he is, but that boat has sailed now, and people are understanding that the vessel that makes so much noise is empty.

vegansrock Sat 05-Sep-20 07:04:17

“game changing” is one of the latest, as in “our game changing antibody test“. ( whatever happened to that?) Also everything is “ramping up”.

Grannynannywanny Sat 05-Sep-20 07:32:06

He appears to use his bumbling bluster to cover up the fact that he’s completely out of his depth.

MaizieD Sat 05-Sep-20 08:05:42

Is it hyperbole or is it just plain old lies?

Furret Sat 05-Sep-20 08:07:58

You might realise what a bumpkin he is grumppa but he supporters lap it up indiscriminately.

toscalily Sat 05-Sep-20 11:59:25

I often think that any news reports showing Boris should come with subtitles, it just might make some of his emissions comprehensible.

Wheniwasyourage Sat 05-Sep-20 12:50:52

Oh yes, grumppa, I do agree with you - it drives me mad too. The other one, which Matt Hancock is fond of too, is "incredible/incredibly".

Don't think subtitles would be enough, toscalily. I think you would need someone to rewrite the whole thing, whether a sentence or a speech, and run it on the screen as a streamer so that you could get the meaning, if any.

I must say that if I were considering sending any of my offspring to Eton, I would be thinking again about the quality of education they would be receiving. grin

grumppa Sat 05-Sep-20 13:19:32

Having taught at Eton (very briefly, as a supply teacher, in 1963 - I was a couple of weeks older than my oldest pupil) I must defend its educational standards!

grumppa Sat 05-Sep-20 13:20:45

It’s the boys who are the problem.

Whitewavemark2 Sat 05-Sep-20 14:19:29

grumppa

It’s the boys who are the problem.

Presumably their sense of entitlement?

Are they born like it?

annodomini Sat 05-Sep-20 14:25:33

"Educated beyond their level of intelligence". Eh, Grumppa?

grumppa Sat 05-Sep-20 17:14:48

I think most of those with a sense of entitlement had it Before they arrived. Some were very bright, but others were certainly nudging up against their level of intelligence