understatement

Understatement is a form of speech in which a lesser expression is used than what would be expected. This is not to be confused with euphemism, where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression. Understatement is a staple of humor in English-speaking cultures, especially in British humour.

For example, in Monty Python's //The Meaning of Life,// a suburban dinner party is invaded by Death, who wears a long black cloak and carries a scythe. He is the Grim Reaper; the party is over; the guests must all go with him. "Well," says one party guest, "that's cast rather a gloom over the evening, hasn't it?" In another scene, an Army officer has just lost his leg. When asked how he feels, he looks down at his bloody stump and responds, "Stings a bit." [|Understatement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

When Lewis Terman's discovered that the research he'd spent most of his life on had been debunked he said: **"We have seen," Terman concluded, with more than a touch of disappointment, "that intellect and achievement are far from perfectly correlated."** - //Outliers//, page 90.