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Americans have become addicted to superlatives. We seem to need our regular 鈥渉yperbole fixes鈥� as if to validate our own existence. This national syndrome becomes most egregious during the run-up to the 鈥�Super Bowl,鈥� a football game that more often than not turns out to be the 鈥渉o-hum鈥� bowl.

But to the attuned ear, this pumped-up hype routinely infects most of our conversations. This exaggeration is not the exclusive province of the magpies of sports talk. In a broader sense, some of these embellishments carry with them a subtle but undeniable element of dishonesty.

Super Bowl 2011: Test your Green Bay Packers knowledge

The news media is perhaps most culpable in promoting our obsession with overstatement. Consider last November鈥檚 midterm elections. Television鈥檚 political pundits portrayed the results as a 鈥渓andslide victory鈥� for Republicans and a rejection of President Obama. While it鈥檚 true that the GOP picked up 63 seats, the 鈥渕assive win鈥� becomes a slim plurality when you crunch the numbers.

Michael McDonald, a professor of politics at Virginia鈥檚 George Mason University, found that only 41 percent of eligible voters even bothered to vote in the so-called GOP landslide. And within that 41 percent, the margin of victory for House Republicans in the national popular vote was about 7 percent. Still, the media acted as though America had become a tea party nation. In reality, more Americans identify as Democrats (31 percent) than Republicans (29 percent), according to a recent Gallup survey.

Facts stand on their own

Distortions like this tend to be at their most shameful during triumphs and tragedies, precisely when facts and events should be able to stand on their own without being propped up by the banalities of those paid to read a TV teleprompter.

I recall during CNN鈥檚 live coverage of Pope John Paul II鈥檚 funeral in 2005, one of my colleagues gushed in her impromptu on-air eulogy that the late pontiff was 鈥渢he pope of the whole world!鈥�

Such silly media pronouncements are so common that few of us even notice them as they float off into the ether. Yet such hyperbole is not just pompous; it also reveals considerable ignorance. My former colleague鈥檚 remark marginalized not just the billion or so Protestants and Eastern Orthodox adherents who don鈥檛 follow orders from Rome but also the 4 billion Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and others who don鈥檛 consider the pontiff worthy of such adulation and veneration.

Perhaps just as embarrassing amid this verbal extravagance was the failure to note the significant Catholic dissent over his legacy. Many Roman Catholic clerics, including Jesuits, had been quite critical of John Paul II; some were privately relieved his time at the helm was up.

Overused words become meaningless

鈥淕reat鈥� and 鈥渁wesome鈥� are other examples of overused words that have become almost meaningless. Earthquakes, tsunamis, and tornados bearing down on you are awesome. Bone-crunching NFL football tackles and films like 鈥淎vatar鈥� are not. 鈥淎wesome鈥� is so overused it can now be rendered to mean 鈥渞ather ordinary.鈥�

鈥淭ragedy鈥� has become another nearly meaningless word. It used to be reserved for events of mass casualties and deep suffering. Now it鈥檚 applied to stories ranging from lost puppies to quarterly earnings reports. The adage (attributed to Stalin) comes to mind: 鈥淭he death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.鈥�

The real tragedy is the demise of intelligent self-expression, a consequence of our shriveling vocabularies.

Well may we cringe listening to contemporary blather, especially superlatives like 鈥渦nbelievable,鈥� which should properly be used to describe politicians.

Sometimes this national obsession with superlatives does a genuine disservice. Wherever did we get the idea that everyone who serves in the military is a hero? Heroism demands an act of valor.

A retired US Navy captain I know put it best: 鈥淗eroes are selfless warriors who risk their lives and often give their lives so others may live. There are plenty of warriors and wannabes, but very few genuine heroes.鈥�

Do as the British (sometime) do

If Americans insist on anointing themselves with superlatives, they should at least strive to imitate the British, who are the true masters of exaggeration.

The late historian Barbara Tuchman was spot on: 鈥淣o nation has ever produced a military history of such verbal nobility as the British.... There is no shrinking from superlatives.... Everyone is splendid: soldiers are staunch, commanders cool, the fighting magnificent.鈥�

Years later Ms. Tuchman told me nothing she ever wrote received such an overwhelmingly favorable response as that passage.

Super Bowl quiz. Put your knowledge to the test.

But rather than imitating British hyperbole, Americans would do well to master the art of understatement and dry wit, the other speaking technique at which the British excel.

In the film 鈥淎 Hard Day鈥檚 Night,鈥� John Lennon was asked by an inquiring reporter about his impressions of the United States.

鈥淗ow did you find America?鈥� Lennon was asked.

鈥淭urn left at Greenland,鈥� he replied.

Walter Rodgers, a former senior international correspondent for CNN, writes a biweekly column.