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BlackEleven · 05-11-2005, 02:01 PM

I thought of another one that drives me mad. People's use of the word literally. As in (and I heard this on tv the other day) "drugs literally tore my parents apart". So what? They were phyiscally attached and drugs somehow separated them?

What's annoying about it is literally is a word used to void the metaphor and have the words taken at their actual meaning, but people use it to -- and I use the term loosely -- enhance the meaning of the the metaphor they are applying it to. So effectively, they are using it to mean metaphorically, which is the exact opposite of its true definition...

I'm no English teacher, far from it, but that drives me nuts....especially considering its usually teeny-bopers that I hear this sort of thing from...

05-11-2005, 02:01 PM	#12
BlackEleven Redundant Minister of Redundancy Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Montreal Exp:	I thought of another one that drives me mad. People's use of the word literally. As in (and I heard this on tv the other day) "drugs literally tore my parents apart". So what? They were phyiscally attached and drugs somehow separated them? What's annoying about it is literally is a word used to void the metaphor and have the words taken at their actual meaning, but people use it to -- and I use the term loosely -- enhance the meaning of the the metaphor they are applying it to. So effectively, they are using it to mean metaphorically, which is the exact opposite of its true definition... I'm no English teacher, far from it, but that drives me nuts....especially considering its usually teeny-bopers that I hear this sort of thing from...