Change the record. "It means the world to me". It's "amazing". "It's unbelievable". "I'm speechless" (then, of course, they proceed to speak). Etc etc.

So winning a silly talent show means "everything" to you, yeah? So, yr family, friends, girlfriend/boyfriend, pets etc mean NOTHING at all?

What do you want him to say? Oh I hate this show I can't believe I won what a disgrace.He was emotional and happy he's hardly going to say oh this is great but my mum,aunt,uncle etc are all more important to me

Of course it means everything! If that was my dream that I'd been working towards for years, I know it'd definitely be everything to me. What else are the winners of these shows meant to say?

Don't say it means everything to you cos it is blatantly a lie and typical of how people are expected to exaggerate these days. When they asked all the contestants what it would mean to them to win, they were all coming out with rubbish like this. Of course it's stupid for ITV to ask them in the first place. Obviously they all want to win.

He was swept up in the moment he wasn't thinking THAT rationally and it hardly means he doesn't value his mother it's just the emotion overcame him.

It doesn't mean everything though does it? That is a huge exaggeration. There are other things in these people's lives that mean something.

No this wasn't particularly about George, they nearly all say this sort of thing.

At that moment though, when you're the winner, I think it can only mean everything. That's all you're thinking about, being the winner, it must be the most amazing feeling.

It's just an expression, I don't tihnk it's meant to be looked into

Well even then it's nothing serious it's just thinking about your dream being achieved.If you won the lottery you'd hardly say - meh it's alright but my family is okay or discussing the opportunity to do so you'd get excited thats just what happens

It means nothing to me, Vienna...

No, seriously, I would say the same thing, "it means everything to me" as usually success = money. Most people have money issues to some extent, maybe a mortgage, car, etc so success = money = cure for money worries.

No, it wasn't about George, it was all the contestants. I don't even remember him saying it after he'd won tbh.

It's great if you win, but it's not everything.

yeah but money/success aren't everything!

true, but in this case the winner also gets £100K, which is a pretty tidy sum if your mum has actually been quoted in a newspaper that the outgoings are higher than the incomings (ie, George).

No it isn't but you are hardly going to say that the moment you find out are you?

Yeah it's good news for them. Financially they should be ok now.

What's wrong with the bolded expressions then? I see where you're coming from about people saying "it means everything" (even though it is just a figure of speech which isn't supposed to be taken so seriously), but of course it's "amazing" or "unbelievable" if you win such a huge competition! What else do you expect them to say? Just shrug and pretend as if they don't really care that much?

Well I certainly wouldn't say it meant everything cos it's a silly phrase. I would probably say I was chuffed to bits, which would be true.

Why take the saying so literally. When someone says it means everything to them they don't mean that they don't care about anything else. I have in the past said the birth of my kid was the best day of my life but it don't mean that every other member of my family is inferior or worthless. It is hardly a lie. They are just trying to get acorss that winning BGT is a important achievement for themselves.

Think of a new expression? Obviously yr delighted. Hell, say that - "I'm delighted". Seriously though, I found myself almost cheering when someone used a different expression - ooh someone said 'phenomenal'!

Then say that. Saying "It means everything to me" kind of implies that nothing else matters. Saying that the birth of yr kid was the best day of yr life does not mean that you haven't had hundreds or thousands of other great days.

Why is that any different to some of the phrases you criticised in the first post?Also you are hardly going to think rationally you will say whatever comes into your head at that moment

Are we all really this bored at 1:36am on an early Sunday morning that we are discussing whether it genuinely means 'everything' to the contestant? Hmm, I need to get out more!!!

But "chuffed to bits" wouldn't be true either would it? You would still be standing there in one piece, you wouldn't have broken up into little "bits" because you were so chuffed.

Ok, so it doesn't concern you that most of these contestants were unable to think of different expressions and had to use the stock "amazing", "unbelievable", "means everything" etc. Jeez, even my Mum was cringeing at it. There are hundreds of expressions they could have used.