Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking ideas. Tell me what you know. Puns are for children, not groan readers. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
Unabridged Dictionaries Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. and CD-Rom . NTC's American English Learner's Dictionary. Richard A. Spears, ed. National Textbook, 1998. Random House Webster's College Thesaurus .