OT: Qualifying Absolutes

[AgentZero]

As the resident native English speaker at work (one of 4 in an office of 250, believe it or not), I was recently asked what the English term was for when one qualifies an absolute. For example, if you say, "I'm a little bit tired," then 'little bit' is a qualifier for 'tired'. But what do you call it if someone says, "He's a little bit dead"? 'Dead' is an absolute, you either are or you aren't, ergo you cannot be a 'little bit' dead. Is this just bad English or is there a term for it. I thought about oxymoron but 'a little bit' does not actually contradict 'dead'. Is it a paradox, maybe? I got one definition of paradox that seems to fit: That which is apparently, though not actually, inconsistent with or opposed to the known facts in any case. "A little bit dead" seems impossible, but dead is dead, so someone who is a bit dead is just as dead as someone who is really dead.
But I found another definition: An apparently sound argument leading to a contradiction. Which seems not to support it since a little bit dead is a apparantly contradictory argument that is actually sound.

Little help, guys?