Hyperbole
hi-per'bo-le, a rhetorical exaggeration. Hyperbole goes beyond the literal truth in order to make a statement more impressive or piquant. It must be used sparingly. The following examples will give a better idea of hyperbole than would be accomplished by an extended discussion.
Tired to death.
Swift as lightning.
Waves running mountain high.
A tongue that should move the stones of Rome.
The rescued land.
Sent up a shout of victory from the field,
That rocked her ancient mountains.
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
Swift as lightning.
Waves running mountain high.
A tongue that should move the stones of Rome.
The rescued land.
Sent up a shout of victory from the field,
That rocked her ancient mountains.
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonorable graves.
In '96 the apple crop of Central New York was so abundant that apples grew on scrub oaks and wire fences, is an instance of colloquial hyperbole.
Volume III · Aiton’s Encyclopedia