A judge shows tremendous good judgement (not to matter a sense of humor) in dealing with a defamation suit:
MCA [sued Mattel] for defamation [because a Mattel representative had, in characterizing MCA’s alleged trademark infringement, used] the words “bank robber,” “heist,” “crime” and “theft.” But all of these are variants of the invective most often hurled at accused infringers, namely “piracy.” No one hearing this accusation understands intellectual property owners to be saying that infringers are nautical cutthroats with eyepatches and peg legs who board galleons to plunder cargo. In context, all these terms are nonactionable “rhetorical hyperbole.” The parties are advised to chill.
I think there are a lot of court cases (particularly law suits) that would be best summed up with just that phrase.
(Via Volokh)