Purple hyperbole

Posted by R. Berg on May 25, 2001

In Reply to: Meaning of purple hyperbole? posted by Simon on May 24, 2001

: Does anyone know the meaning of the phrase "purple hyperbole"?

Hyperbole: speech or writing that overstates or exaggerates; "hype" is short for this. Purple prose: writing that is flowery or melodramatic, with lots of modifiers (like "The young maiden so pure of heart was cast cruelly out into yon frozen countryside, weeping pitiful tears, with only a meager crust of dry bread to sustain her," blah, blah). So "purple hyperbole" is somewhat redundant, and it means, more or less, overwritten exaggeration.

• Purple hyperbole Simon Hagan 05/28/01