Have you noticed that words that used to describe the normal in an acceptably way have now taken on negative connotations? Anything described as "adequate" is though of as inferior. "How do you like your new car?"
"Oh, it's adequate."
"Got a lemon, huh?"
We are led down the path by these terms. "Brake service, $79 per axle."
"I'll take your brake special."
"Well, that includes only standard brake pads."
"So they aren't very good?"
"Well, we recommend the Superior pads."
"How much extra are they?"
"$30. But if your daughter is going to drive this car, why not get the Premium pads?"
"Okay."
"Right. So that's $129 per axle."
Or what about those automatic car wash machines? "Press 1 for Regular Wash, 2 for Deluxe Wash, 3 for Superior Wash, 4 for Ultimate wash."
We are, as Samuel Johnson might have phrased it, in a culture of "exaggeratory declamation," where hyperbole is the norm, and you must amplify from there on up if you are to express enthusiasm for anything.
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