To be sick of the incorrect use of 'literally'

[memoo]

A few recent examples,

"I literally died!" erm no you didn't because you're stood here talking to me now

"I am literally speakless" then why the feck are you still talking

ahhhh I know its slightly irrational but it makes me cross!!!

[Condensedmilkaddict]

Yanbu

It's misused literally all the time.

Another is ironic. Most of the time when people say 'oh it's so ironic' - it isn't actually.

[pagwatch]

I recently overheard a young man exclaim that he had 'literally shat himself'

and

[ProfYaffle]

YABU - I love mis-use of 'literally', makes me ROFL (literally)

[PuppyMonkey]

speakless I am literally having kittens at your spelling.

[Bluesunday]

Can I add "that's so random!", please?

[DorotheaPlenticlew]

You should've put this in Pedants' Corner.

DP has noticed that radio sports commentators seem to commit this crime more than anyone else. Have to say he has a point, they do seem really prone to it. In fact, isn't there a whole category of Colemanballs focusing on "literally"?

[StealthPolarBear]

as well as the OP, why are "literally", "actually" and "basically" so over used?
"Random" and "scary" (as in "it's scary how good I am at table tennis" ) are slowly catching up

[ilovemydogandmrobama]

One of my colleagues had a big bell on his desk and would hit it every time someone said the word, 'basically'

[pagwatch]

I am not sure why but
"its scary how good I am at table tennis " just made me ROFL. Literally of course

[BlauerEngel]

Well, you could stick your fingers down your throat and then you could claim in all honesty that the subject literally makes you sick.

[cornsilk]

can I add specifically to the numpty list- I hear it a lot at work. I also want to suggest that we have a nasty punishment for people who say pacific instead of specific.

[memoo]

I am literally dying of embarrassment at my spelling in my OP

[StealthPolarBear]

i am actually laughing. basically at you. literally pointing.
(don't worry, pedants, i pointed at the screen)

[kitcat1977]

'I could literally eat a horse.'

Oh, I'd love to watch

[diddl]

I thought it had become acceptable to use literally in this way?

So perhaps annoying but not literally incorrect?

[OtterInaSkoda]

LOL at the lad who literally shat himself

I am literally sick of the misuse of literally. So much so that my keyboard is quite clogged up at the mo. Please excuse me....

[pagwatch]

OOh Madame. Was it you who got all hoity about John Simm as the master saying he would decimate the population but then realised he did actually mean one in ten.
For some reason I loved that pedantry petard moment

[CagedBird]

YABU I love the blasted word, I think there's a rise on all words that end in ...ally, and it's good because it goes with my accent I think the one I hear most is "I literally pissed myself laughing". By the way op literally pissing myself laughing at your spelling (well if you are going to be a pedant

[howmuchdidyousay]

OP just to add to your woes,I am goinf to tell you that the OED lists
literally

? adverb 1 in a literal manner or sense. 2 informal used for emphasis (rather than to suggest literal truth).

So on the basis of this dictionary definition,they are literally right and YA literally BU !!

[DorotheaPlenticlew]

Ah, but the OED, like all good dictionaries, is descriptive rather than prescriptive.