I literally thought I would die.<\/p>\n
There were literally 5 million people in line at the bank.<\/p>\n
I use the word “literally” when I mean “figuratively” all. the. time. It drives some people nuts and I have gotten condescending comments about it. I think it’s FUNNY to use “literally” when I mean “figuratively”. I also think it’s FUNNY to be hyperbolic. I think it’s way funnier to say “There were 5 million people in line at the bank” rather than “There were 15 people in line at the bank but it FELT like 5 million.” Sheesh, this seems self-evident but apparently not. I think the people who bitch and moan about incorrect usage of “literally” do not put a high premium on humor. They would rather be accurate. Yawn.<\/p>\n
Alex <\/a>had the same experience recently. She wrote a wonderful post, and some jag-off didn’t even comment on the post, just said: “One of my pet peeves is when people use ‘literally’ when they mean ‘figuratively’.” Hey, thanks for sharing, bozo.<\/p>\n To those people who make comments like that: How on earth do you think that this:<\/p>\n My headache was so bad that my eyeballs were figuratively on fire.<\/p>\n is preferable to this:<\/p>\n My headache was so bad that my eyeballs were literally on fire.<\/p>\n Because suddenly you get an image in your head of some poor sap with a conflagration in the eyeballs, and it is, in general, rather amusing.<\/p>\n So imagine my delight and glee when I read this marvelous piece<\/a> about the long and storied history of writers using the word “literally” when they mean “figuratively”.<\/p>\n When I realized what great historical company I have been keeping all this time, my heart took wing. Literally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I literally thought I would die. There were literally 5 million people in line at the bank. I use the word “literally” when I mean “figuratively” all. the. time. It drives some people nuts and I have gotten condescending comments … Continue reading