"Literally" is a word that is very often misused.
Here are a few examples:
"I literally died when she told me about what I did at the party."
or
"When he jumped out from behind the desk, I flew fifteen feet into the air, literally"
or
"Man, that girl literally knocked my socks off"
You did not "literally" die, when something happened. If you had, you'd not be telling the story.
You did not "literally" fly fifteen feet into the air when someone scared you. If you had, you'd likely be in the hospital or dead.
You did not "literally" get your socks knocked off. If you had… well, that would be awesome.
The word "literally" is to be used when something "LITERALLY" happens. If you'd like to be figurative, then just DROP the word. "I died when that happened." "I flew fifteen feet into the air." "That knocked my socks off."
Your continued incorrect use of this word may literally drive me to insanity. Though, it's more likely that a car will literally drive me somewhere, and your use of this term will just anger me further.
Or you could always use "almost" in its place: "Man, that girl almost knocked my socks off!" (Unless you're my husband, who can honestly say: "Man, that girl literally knocked my socks off!" Long story short, his shoes were literally knocked off his feet when his motorcycle slipped on some leaves in front of my place and he went flying. Come to think of it, I only literally knocked his shoes off, which isn't quite as cool.)
ReplyDeleteOh, I agree with this one. :) I catch myself using it incorrectly once in awhile.
ReplyDeleteHuge pet peeve of mine too... :)
ReplyDelete