You Can Literally Use the Word Literally, Literally Anyway You Want?

[cosmicfolklore]

A while back I got in the bad habit of saying "I'll be honest". My wife said to me, after getting annoyed with me, "I'm glad your honest and you're not lying to me". After getting that response from her repeatedly...I quit saying "I'll be honest".

When I am feeling snarky and someone starts a sentence with "honestly", or "I'll be honest..." I usually just say, "how do you start a sentence when you are outright lying to me?" Ha ha.

 

[mikethompson]

I used to be in the habit of saying 'classic whomever ' whenever someone would do something typical of them. For example, cosmic says he doesn't like cobs, you'd I would say 'classic Cosmic'. Anyway, I had a dream before my daughter was born where our doctor was late to the delivery, and I remarked to my wife, in labour, 'classic Dr. Wu' and she exploded at me with rage.

Was it just a dream or foreshadowing? I never found out and the habit died.

 

[anotherbob]

I used to be in the habit of saying 'classic whomever ' whenever someone would do something typical of them. For example, cosmic says he doesn't like cobs, you'd I would say 'classic Cosmic'. Anyway, I had a dream before my daughter was born where our doctor was late to the delivery, and I remarked to my wife, in labour, 'classic Dr. Wu' and she exploded at me with rage.

Was it just a dream or foreshadowing? I never found out and the habit died.

actually that means don't eat strawberries. Dreams are weird like that. Classic weird dreams.

 

[Misanthrope]

Ugh, like, gag me with a spoon. It's just, like, THE WORST. ::flounce::

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I know, I know, it's the new F-bomb for millennials. You can literally replace the word with "fucking" and it will still carry the same meaning and intended emphasis.

I was on the Facebook the other day and was reading my daughters' posts to keep up with what they are up to out in the big ol' world, and one of them had posted something where they had used the term "literally" and someone had corrected them. I know, I know, it doesn't sound right in my logical world of "figurative" verses "literal". But, it got me to thinking... in a moment of questioning my rationale, I Googled it, and low and behold there are two definitions for the word.

View attachment 64033

"Used for emphasis or to express strong feelings..." WTF!? So, anyone can literally use the word however they want?

So, I guess it is the new F-bomb. It just doesn't sound smart, but I guess it is still better than dropping F-bombs for emotive reasons. So, I have to stop correcting millennials. :::sigh:::

Anyways, I know that we have a few other Grammar Nazis like me on here. What do you think?

And people who will ask... "Can I ask you a question?" What do they think that they just did? Why not just ask the question as their first question, and cut the talking time in half?



Oh, and we had neighbors move in next door when I was a pre-teen. They were from California, both all bleached blond and health food people.
The guy would always say, "know what I mean?" in between each thing he said. And, the woman would always say, "I know, right?" between each of her statements. They were perfectly matched. All day, "know what I mean?" "I know, right?"
They drove my dad insane.

That, and we kept catching them having sex in our hot tub, ha ha.

I cringe when I hear that crap. And yeah, "Can I ask you a question?" ranks up there with the same level of stupidity. Why don't you just ask your question, it would have taken less than half the time. What's even worse, if you answer no, they ask anyway.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I cringe when I hear that crap. And yeah, "Can I ask you a question?" ranks up there with the same level of stupidity. Why don't you just ask your question, it would have taken less than half the time. What's even worse, if you answer no, they ask anyway.

Or like, when someone starts off with, "I don't mean any offence," "don't take this the wrong way," and then they say something offensive, like "you stink."

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

A while back I got in the bad habit of saying "I'll be honest". My wife said to me, after getting annoyed with me, "I'm glad your honest and you're not lying to me". After getting that response from her repeatedly...I quit saying "I'll be honest".

Yep! I never understood why a fella would say “To be honest...”. But, I’m also occasionally guilty of the “At the end of the day...” which I’m trying to desperately cure myself of. ?️

 

[briarbuck]

Literally is currently the most overused word in the English language.

Literally...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I know, I know... I used to be the biggest corrector of the word, asking folks why they don't instead say "actually." But, I've lost the battle. The damned dictionary has ended the war... :::sigh:::


I think that these younger folks just have a hard time reasoning the differences in the subtle uses of the language.

 

[Jaylotw]

We’ve all got our little vocal tics. I worked a farmer’s market where another vendor next to me punctuated literally every phrase with “y’know.” “These are, y’know, tomatoes the we, y’know, raised from seeds that were, y’know saved, y’know from last year so, y’know, their our, y’know, own seeds.” His head looked like a furry white Tic-Tac, too. I picked on him relentlessly until a co-worker pointed out to me that I inject “y’know” at an alarming rate, as well, but that at least my head didn’t look like a furry Tic-Tac.

I have friends who drop “literally” all the time. My girlfriend does it-a lot- when she’s had a few drinks. In which cases it’s more like “lil-er-a-lee.” It’s not endearing anymore.

One I especially hate is the phrase “Be that as it may.” When people say that I want to punt them into eternity.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

What the Literal!?!?

 

[briarbuck]

I cringe when I hear that crap. And yeah, "Can I ask you a question?" ranks up there with the same level of stupidity. Why don't you just ask your question, it would have taken less than half the time. What's even worse, if you answer no, they ask anyway.

I cringe when I hear that crap. And yeah, "Can I ask you a question?" ranks up there with the same level of stupidity. Why don't you just ask your question, it would have taken less than half the time. What's even worse, if you answer no, they ask anyway.

Then hit them with...it's literally "MAY I ask you a question" not "CAN I ask you a question".

 

[brian64]

"Can I ask you a question?"

You haven't asked permission to ask that one.

And always remember, "irregardless" is literally not a word.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Yeah, it's disirregardless....

 

[ofafeather]

I know, I know, it's the new F-bomb for millennials. You can literally replace the word with "fucking" and it will still carry the same meaning and intended emphasis.

I was on the Facebook the other day and was reading my daughters' posts to keep up with what they are up to out in the big ol' world, and one of them had posted something where they had used the term "literally" and someone had corrected them. I know, I know, it doesn't sound right in my logical world of "figurative" verses "literal". But, it got me to thinking... in a moment of questioning my rationale, I Googled it, and low and behold there are two definitions for the word.

View attachment 64033

"Used for emphasis or to express strong feelings..." WTF!? So, anyone can literally use the word however they want?

So, I guess it is the new F-bomb. It just doesn't sound smart, but I guess it is still better than dropping F-bombs for emotive reasons. So, I have to stop correcting millennials. :::sigh:::

Anyways, I know that we have a few other Grammar Nazis like me on here. What do you think?

My wife and I are always like “no, not literally!” when we hear it on TV. But I do recognize that language is a living thing and usage becomes reality.

 

[Jaylotw]

Yeah, it's disirregardless....

Yes. But undisirregardlessly of that fact, people still say it.

 

[ofafeather]

You cannot literally use the word literally anyway you want...

But you can use the word “literally” figuratively if you want! ?

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

I remember when fast food places started adding the very first Drive-Thru. My dad said the use of the word “thru” would be the decline of civilization as we know it. Ha ha!

He was right.

 

[mikethompson]

I remember a similar issue when 'pimp' started to mean something else. Anyone remember Pimp My Ride?

Language is a living thing, that's how it goes. Literally.

 

[ofafeather]

And always remember, "irregardless" is literally not a word.

That is literally true!