Writers and speakers use different techniques to create humour or to make their point, and hyperbole can be an effective method. Hyperbole is the use of over-exaggeration, for example, “I have to do a million things today!” Hyperbole is from the Greek word for “excess” (too much) and is the opposite of understatement. Some hyperboles have become over used and are no longer original or very effective, for example, “You are taking forever to get ready.”