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Pedants' corner

Misuse of 'literally'

107 replies

DouzeQuinze · 19/07/2011 18:11

It is so annoying!!!

Heard today - "The weight of the world has literally been lifted from my shoulders"...

There have been many instances recently and it really grates on me! Anyone else?!

OP posts:

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Fink · 20/07/2011 10:21

Yes! This really annoys me!

It's bad enough when people pepper their speech with literally where it might make sense, but it's so much worse when they use it as you've quoted where it doesn't work at all. It's quite pervasive as well, literally everybody in the whole world is doing it nowadays.

[Sympathy hugs]

Malcontentinthemiddle · 20/07/2011 10:35

It makes me physically sick when I hear this.....

AMumInScotland · 20/07/2011 11:23

Yes and "I literally died laughing" - er, did you really?

RealityAlt0174 · 20/07/2011 11:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Oakmaiden · 20/07/2011 11:26

My son does this. Grrr.

He is not impressed when I tell him he is being metaphoric, and not literal.

And in fairness I have never heard anyone saying that "The weight of the world has been metaphorically lifted from their shoulders".

ShowOfHands · 20/07/2011 11:27

I was very surprised that a 100m runner literally exploded out of the blocks t'other day. A tad distracting for the other competitors.

piprabbit · 20/07/2011 11:28

The OP reminded me of this song.

ShowOfHands · 20/07/2011 11:29

I am ashamed to admit that post studying for my Masters I read a lot of bollocks fiction as an antidote to the heavy going year of classic literature. Penny Vincenzi literally hang your head in shame. She does it once per chapter. I might email her editor and point out the difference between literally and figuratively.

ElfOnTheTopShelf · 20/07/2011 11:29

So when should you use literally? Examples please!!

OohThatsMyTractor · 20/07/2011 11:33

I agree, it is a very annoying misuse of a word! Although the one that really gets my goat is when people say "off of" eg. He was "off of" London. He wasn't "off of" anything!! He was FROM!!!

It really really irritates me, particularly as I have noticed television presenters and radio dj's using it, I even read it in a magazine the other day!

Argh! Ok, and breathe...

Oakmaiden · 20/07/2011 11:33

When you are being well, literal.

I am literally falling aslee...zzzzzzz.

I have literally lost my marbles (you know those round, glass ones). As opposed to figuratively lost my marbles (gone mad).

Better not to use it at all. There is no real need for it.

ShowOfHands · 20/07/2011 11:36

Oh yes Ooh. DH likes Radio 1 in the car and they utter 'him off of Eastenders' and the like. I bristle. Literally.

Elf, literally is just flannel anyway. Same as really. But if you literally mean something it's acceptable. You can literally laugh your head off if you wish but if I see a non-severed head, I will judge you.

TheCrackFox · 20/07/2011 11:48

I watched the Female World Cup Final on Sunday and Gaby Logan said - "The tentacles of sport have literally reached across the World".

The misuse of of the Word unique is getting annoying, e.g. "He is a little bit unique." Something is either unique or it isn't, there are no shades of grey.

AgonyBeetle · 20/07/2011 11:51

Oh yes. Someone started a thread a while back with the title "My blood is literally boiling". I felt obliged to point out that if her blood was literally boiling, she would be dead.

[gavel]

DouzeQuinze · 20/07/2011 12:37

at ShowOfHands and the severed head.

Glad to find like-minded pedants! I'm sure I'll be back with more examples soon...

OP posts:

hatwoman · 20/07/2011 12:40

there's was someone on the Today Programme a few weeks ago, talking about a footballer who "literally lost his head".

it was non-uniform day at school today and dd had literally nothing to wear.

hatwoman · 20/07/2011 12:41

"there's was" ??? not a great start to a post on Pedants' Corner...

TrillianAstra · 20/07/2011 19:26

theoatmeal.com/comics/literally

On train so can't do it nicely

MrsJamin · 20/07/2011 19:28

My favourite use of this was Simon Cowell on American Idol a few years ago: "You're literally singing for your life now"

PfftTheMagicDragonhideGloves · 20/07/2011 19:29

It really annoys me.

Marginally more than misuse of decimated.

AgonyBeetle · 20/07/2011 20:42

nandrin · 20/07/2011 20:56

When I was at uni I had a housemate who used literally in almost every sentence! It really annoyed me, especially when my other housemates started doing it aswell! I also find "off of" irritating and people who use "essentially" all the time but what bothers me the most is when people say/write brought instead of bought! I was reading some carseat reviews recently and couldn't believe the number of people who wrote brought when they meant bought.

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Wallace · 20/07/2011 21:01

I like to misuse literally in conversations for my own amusement.

WiiUnfit · 20/07/2011 21:03

The misuse of literally grates on me too, as does the random use of 'actually' - "I actually just laughed"

nandrin yy to 'off of' and 'brought' instead of bought

I also dislike "borrow me your X", it is lend me, I lend, you borrow, why do you not get this?

PPPop · 20/07/2011 21:08

I'm guilty of actually overuse and have passed it on to my 4yo son. Sometimes he says the word actually and I literally crack up laughing

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