literally overused
jane and i had a discussion about overused words whilst we were away. i think it started with the overuse (in christian circles) of "really" and "just" - especially in very sincere prayers. anyway, we decided "literally" is the most overused word - especially in the wrong context: as in "i went into town and the queue for the car park took literally hours" or "i've got literally nothing to wear."
posted by suzyb at 9:25 pm
5 Comments:
This one has been bugging me for some time - as a natural pedant it really grates.
I heard a great one just this morning - it was something along the lines of "I literally worked myself to death"
Oh you did, did you?
10:54 am
or how about "i was literally starving". yes, well - try living in niger.
4:56 pm
i literally agree with you....
although i think perhaps it is being misused rather than overused!?!? like 'ironic'. ever since alanis morrisette penned her little ditty, people are finding lots of pretty ordinary things ironic. like 'a traffic jam, when you're already late' or 'a no smoking sign on your cigarette break'. i reckon alanis should have more aptly called her song 'isn't it annoying?'!
1:42 am
i also feel that the word 'surreal' could be added to the overused list. everything seems to be sooooo surreal these days. (suzy brech, i feel you might be quite partial to this word, am i right?)
1:42 am
yes, i like the word surreal. don't think i use it that much, but i'm happy to be proved wrong. haven't used it much in blog postings i don't think.
re: alanis - well we all know that americans don't get irony....
3:16 pm
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