Dave McElhinny stories

Hyperbole is derived from a Greek word meaning “excess.” It is used as extreme exaggeration to make a point. Just about every day, we either hear it or say it. “I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.” While rarely creative, these regurgitated phrases are blurted out thoughtlessly across our...

If you are a reader of my column, you know that I have no problem sharing even the most embarrassing experiences. I suppose a regular person wouldn’t do that, but on this day, I was anything but “regular.” Allow me to share. I walked in the door when I got...

I don’t know about you, but I think “prejudiced people are all alike.” This is what’s known as an oxymoron, a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear together. I used to think oxymoron was a term to describe a dumb person who has acne. When I mentioned...

No wonder communicating with kids can be difficult. During a round of the home version of “Family Feud” at my house, this became clear. My wife was reading the questions and asked, “Name something that gets ripe.” Before the words had cleared her lips, my youngest son slammed his hand...

I’ve been studying a second language. It wasn’t something I chose to do — more like something I had to do. It’s much more difficult than I anticipated, and even though I’ve been studying it for quite a while, I’m still not fluent. My most recent lesson the other day...