My theory is that hyperbole is gradually devaluing the English language. Advertising and marketing people are prime offenders. For example, I recently came across a bag of apples called, “Fun Apples.” I may be an overly serious type of person, but try as I might I can’t imagine an apple being a source of fun. Maybe I’ve been buying the wrong apples? In which case these apples might open my eyes to a new source of entertainment. Maybe you’re not supposed to eat them Maybe you’re supposed to throw them at people. That might be fun. On the other hand, it might not.
There was a clue. The apples in question were small. The marketing people were implying that not all apples are fun. Just the small ones. In that case the solution is simple. If farmers want us to have fun eating their apples they should stop growing the big ones. Stick to crab apple sized apples. What I want to know is what convoluted logic was going through the copywriter’s mind when they decided that small apples were “fun apples?” Did they actually think people were going to say to themselves, ‘Hey! I must buy these apples because they’re not serious like those big ones.’ Or were they going to ignore the “fun” label and buy them because they were cheaper than the big ones?’
Is it any wonder kids are going around calling the most inane things, “totally awesome?” One can just imagine the great writers of the past spinning in their graves. On the other hand, that would be totally awesome!
There was a clue. The apples in question were small. The marketing people were implying that not all apples are fun. Just the small ones. In that case the solution is simple. If farmers want us to have fun eating their apples they should stop growing the big ones. Stick to crab apple sized apples. What I want to know is what convoluted logic was going through the copywriter’s mind when they decided that small apples were “fun apples?” Did they actually think people were going to say to themselves, ‘Hey! I must buy these apples because they’re not serious like those big ones.’ Or were they going to ignore the “fun” label and buy them because they were cheaper than the big ones?’
Is it any wonder kids are going around calling the most inane things, “totally awesome?” One can just imagine the great writers of the past spinning in their graves. On the other hand, that would be totally awesome!