One of my favorite Japanese idioms is "ホラを吹く" which literally means "to blow a trumpet shell." This idiom is used to mean saying a thing(s) exaggeratedly.
ホラ (貝) is a kind of shell used as a wind instrument back in the old days, for communication between ascetic hermits in the mountains and signals in military marches, since it makes a bigger sound than expected out of the size.
When I meet someone take advantage of a figure of speech, I can't help picturing in my mind that the person is actually blowing a trumpet shell.
If you're curious about this shell. please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp52cl6oVAA
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