Literally.

[Imzadi]

Hmm, I don't say literally much. Actually, I say "actually" a lot. Literally, I do.

 

[kaytieeldr]

When I say "literally" in a sentence the "wrong" way, I'm using it in a hyberbolic way. So if I say "I'm so hungry I could literally eat a horse," I'm just using "literally" to exaggerate.

Mm, you could probably leave out "literally" and end up with a more powerful, effective statement ,

 

[kaytieeldr]

Hmm, I don't say literally much. Actually, I say "actually" a lot. Literally, I do.

Absolutely. I absolutely understand what you're absolutely saying here. Absolutely.

Me? I don't overuse any words, as far as I know.

 

[Imzadi]

Hmm, I don't say literally much. Actually, I say "actually" a lot. Literally, I do.

Absolutely. I absolutely understand what you're absolutely saying here. Absolutely.

Me? I don't overuse any words, as far as I know.

Well. . . umm, actually. . .

 

[kaytieeldr]

Well. . . umm, actually. . .

Actually, Imzadi, if you actually have something to actually say to me, you should absolutely just actually literally come out and actually say it. Absolutely.

 

[Jennasis]

My cousin and I have a game where we hit an invisible buzzer every time my sister says the word "literally" which is very, very often. If she gives us the oh-so-awesome "ALMOST LITERALLY" it's worth double points.

 

[lucas]

Actually, Imzadi, if you actually have something to actually say to me, you should absolutely just actually literally come out and actually say it. Absolutely.

Totally.

 

[chipsgirl1030]

I once worked with a woman who used the word literally all the time. The only problem was she pronounced it little- ly. I thought I was the only one who noticed until another coworker pointed it out.

 

[kimmar067]

I have a coworker who always says "that literally cracks me up"...and I can't help but imagining her literally cracking up.....

.........hmmmm....well, she literally COULD, if she were a hard-boiled egg....

 

[mrsklamc]

"You keep on saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

 

[eliza61]

Please for the love of Disney, stop saying "literally" in every sentence! Especially when you use it incorrectly 99% of the time.

AHHH!!!

Thanks.

why? why does it bother you? it's an internet forum, not a thesis paper or a resumer

 

[kimmar067]

"You keep on saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

 

[kimmar067]

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to literally die."

 

[Rylee]

Absolutely. I absolutely understand what you're absolutely saying here. Absolutely.

Me? I don't overuse any words, as far as I know.

I bet you are absolutely related to the Anthony's.

 

[CajunMomof3]

"You keep on saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

This literally made me laugh out loud!

 

[mrsklamc]

Misuse of literally doesn't really bother me so much as it just makes me roll my eyes or shake my head. 'Epic' has been bothering me lately though.

 

[StephyDee]

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to literally die."

This is such an awesome thread. Doesn't hurt that the "Princess Bride" reference connects with the shirt I'm wearing. It's actually a "PB" shirt, believe it or not.

As for using the word 'literally', I hear it used in the wrong context so often at work, that I have to keep reminding myself how to correctly use it. Otherwise I'd be just as bad as them.

 

[mrsklamc]

This is such an awesome thread. Doesn't hurt that the "Princess Bride" reference connects with the shirt I'm wearing. It's actually a "PB" shirt, believe it or not.

As for using the word 'literally', I hear it used in the wrong context so often at work, that I have to keep reminding myself how to correctly use it. Otherwise I'd be just as bad as them.

Is it the nametag shirt? That is DH's second most commented shirt.

 

[kaytieeldr]

why? why does it bother you? it's an internet forum, not a thesis paper or a resumer

Despite referencing Disney, I'm 100% certain the OP was posting a general vent at everyone who misuses the word - not just DIS posters.

But since you brought up the "this is just a message board" argument... People who use that word wrong informally use it wrong formally, too. People don't just change their understanding and usage of a particular word based on the seriousness of the discussion or document.

 

[Rylee]

The Word We Love To Hate

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2005/11/the_word_we_love_to_hate.html


As is often the case, though, such "abuses" have a long and esteemed history in English. The ground was not especially sticky in Little Women when Louisa May Alcott wrote that "the land literally flowed with milk and honey,"nor was Tom Sawyer turning somersaults on piles of money when Twain described him as "literally rolling in wealth," nor was Jay Gatsby shining when Fitzgerald wrote that "he literally glowed," nor were Bach and Beethoven squeezed into a fedora when Joyce wrote in Ulysses that a Mozart piece was "the acme of first class music as such, literally knocking everything else into a cocked hat." Such examples are easily come by, even in the works of the authors we are often told to emulate.

Eventually, though, literally began to be used to intensify statements that were themselves figurative or metaphorical. The earliest examples I know of are from the late 18th century, and though there are examples throughout the 19th century—often in prominent works; to my earlier examples could be added choice quotations from James Fenimore Cooper, Thackeray, Dickens, and Thoreau, among many others—no one seems to have objected to the usage until the early 20th century.