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A.Word.A.Day--hyperbolic hyperbolic (hy-puhr-BOL-ik) adjective 1. Of or pertaining to hyperbole; exaggerating. 2. Of or pertaining to hyperbola. [From Greek hyperbole (excess), from hyperballein (to exceed), from hyper- + ballein (to throw).] When you employ hyperbole in your discourse, you are doing what a devil does (to throw), etymologically speaking. The word devil ultimately comes from Greek diaballein (to throw across, slander). Some other words that share the same root are ballistic, emblem, embolism, metabolism, parable, problem, parabola, and symbol. -Anu "A short while back, Italy's leading newspaper, Corriere della Sera, ran a cartoon that imagined Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's continuing evolution. In the first panel, he was chief of state. In a later panel, he was king. Finally, years hence, he morphed into a new-era Napoleon. Within the hyperbolic context of satire, it was a fairly apt commentary on Mr. Berlusconi's outsize ambitions." Frank Bruni; Italy's Leader Balances Ambitions and Trials; The New York Times; Feb 16, 2003. "One of the ironies to emerge from the midair disintegration of the Columbia on 1 February is that CNN's breaking news of the tragedy was, for many people, their first clue that a shuttle mission was under way. ... This everyday neglect is worth remarking on, not least because, set against its backdrop, the flood of hyperbolic tributes that followed Columbia's loss strikes an odd chord." Marina Benjamin; The End of the Space Age; New Statesman (London, UK); Feb 10, 2003. This week's theme: words from mathematics that have other meanings as well. X-Bonus Who is content with nothing possesses all things. -Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux, poet (1636-1711)

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