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Saturday, March 19, 2011

Epitome of Hyperbole aka

These two words were chosen because I used the word epitome today at work, and someone didn't know what it was, so I explained it. I was then reminded of a comedy stand up routine by Brian Regan, which he titled Epitome of Hyperbole. Make sure to listen to the pronunciations on the Merriam-Webster website, and you'll find the explanation at the end more humorous.

Maybe.

First word!

EPITOME!

epit·o·me noun \i-ˈpi-tə-mē\
Definition of EPITOME

1 a : a summary of a written work
b : a brief presentation or statement of something
2 : a typical or ideal example : embodiment (the British monarchy itself is the epitome of tradition — Richard Joseph)
3 : brief or miniature form —usually used with in

— ep·i·tom·ic or ep·i·tom·i·cal adjective

'The golden rule is often cited as the epitome of moral conduct: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” '
"The prestigious prep school prides itself on being widely regarded as the epitome of tradition and old-fashioned values."

Related to EPITOME

Synonyms: abstract, breviary, brief, capsule, conspectus, digest, encapsulation, summary, inventory, outline, précis, recap, recapitulation, résumé (or resume also resumé), roundup, rundown, run-through, sum, summa, summarization, summing-up, sum-up, synopsis, wrap-up

Origin of EPITOME

Latin, from Greek epitomē, from epitemnein to cut short, from epi- + temnein to cut — more at tome
First Known Use: 1520

*The second meaning of 'epitome' is generally the form that 'epitome' takes when being used.*

Second Word!

HYPERBOLE!

hy·per·bo·le noun \hī-ˈpər-bə-(ˌ)lē\
Definition of HYPERBOLE

: extravagant exaggeration (as “mile-high ice-cream cones”)

— hy·per·bo·list noun

“Enough food to feed a whole army” is a common example of hyperbole.

Origin of HYPERBOLE

Latin, from Greek hyperbolē excess, hyperbole, hyperbola, from hyperballein to exceed, from hyper- + ballein to throw — more at devil
First Known Use: 15th century

So, Brian Regan said that after a show once, an audience member came up and informed him that he had "literally mispronounced every word," to which Brian Regan responded, "Well, if that isn't the epi-tome of hyper-bowl..."

I cracked up when I saw it. Maybe you have to see it or hear it to truly appreciate. I know how that is sometimes. Anyways, I figured I'd give you a video clip from that stand up special, because he's hilarious and I love his stuff.



Hope you enjoyed it. Later!

15 comments:

  1. very good. thanks for posting.

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  2. well the hyperbole i already knew the meaning. epitome i never heard of. It's an expensive word for resume. haha. Thanks, getting smarter :)

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  3. I saw "throw — more at devil," and thought, "No, don't hurt him!" ;)

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  4. Hahaha, of course you did.

    Stare Dad: I'm glad to have helped!

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  5. would it be right to say: "one day I had an epitomic romance."?

    using the third meaning: "brief or miniature form"

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  6. No, I don't think so. I think that 'epitomic' is meant to be used to describe something like a short summary. Something that describes a larger body of work in a 'brief or miniature form.' It's tricky, because many of these words have definitions or forms that are very uncommon. Using 'epitomic' as an example, I've never heard that word used, and yet I've heard 'epitome' a number of times. It's tricky, and one of the set backs to learning new words via definition, rather than from context.

    An excellent question, though. I hope you check back and can see this.

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  7. very nice. thank you for the information. have a great day

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  8. it used to piss me off when ppl couldnt pronounce epitome properly

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  9. informative & funny! followed :)

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  10. Haha, this is great. Really enjoyed this post and can't wait to show my friend this video. I love new vocabulary thats useful. Thanks.

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