I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the 1980s. So, like, I grew up with “like” as, like, part of my vocabulary. I’m still doing my best to eliminate it, but I have to say it really depends on who I’m talking with. If I’m around someone who uses it freely, it creeps its way back in, and quickly. I say all this, because I need to make it abundantly clear that it’s not the people who use, or should I say MISuse “literally” that really bother me, it’s the fact that “literally” has taken on this life of its own and is seeping into everyone’s vernacular.
Here’s what “literally” means to me — “in a strict sense of the word or words, NOT figurative or metaphorical”
Here’s what “literally” has become–A way to sound dramatic and emphasize every detail of one’s day.
I think the reason this upsets me so much is that I LOVE wordplay. I love when people are clever with words. So, if I call someone on the phone and that person is on her way to meet me and ACTUALLY has one foot outside her front door, I would delight to hear her say, “I literally have one foot out the door!” YES! Perfect time to use this word.
But, “literally” is now dropped around like the word “like” or the stalling “umm.” It’s become lazy and dramatic, but sadly loses all its pizzaz when so overused. I used to hold my breath, waiting for the awesome witty punchline at the other side of hearing this word spoken. And, now, it’s the other way around. I’m surprised and excited when someone actually uses it correctly.
Maybe someone was hanging upside down somewhere and had a life epiphany and literally saw the world in a new way. Or even our daughter, at three years old, if I said I was going to go hop in the shower, would shout to me, “Not literally though!”
So, the two main ways I see this word overused and abused are:
–Using literally to mean “actually.” Now, unfortunately, a dictionary’s job is simply to record language, not write it, and has thus added the “use for emphasis” to the definition of this word, and therefore killed it. So, when I hear, “I literally just…” I cringe. Because it is never, never going to be used correctly (in my opinion) with a “just” these days. I literally just saw him. I literally just said that. I literally just went there. I hear this type of example all. the. time, and Oh, how it breaks my heart. (Not literally though, mind you!)
But, it’s this second way that really bums me out the most…
–The other horrible abuse this word gets is when people use it with a metaphorical expression that is absolutely not the truth. So, if Flynn Rider tells Rapunzel he wants to get out of her hair–LITERALLY, then, that’s awesome. YAY! But, if someone says their mind literally exploded, then I…I have no words for this sad, sad death of a really great word.
Shows, movies, celebrities, politicians, well-educated people I admire…This word is abused every day. Now, some shows and movies do get it right. The example above from Tangled or when Bonnie literally makes a new friend in class in Toy Story 4. And some shows do use it in a very tongue-in-cheek way. But, Come on screen writers, authors, professors! Get it together. Save this lovely word from the direction it’s headed.
This is such a fun and delightful word. But, save it, keep it. Hold on to it. Because one day when it’s raining really hard outside and your kid’s stuffed animals fall off the roof, you can say, “It’s literally raining cats and dogs.” Or when my daughter was watching a Toy Story short the other day and Mr. Potato Head’s body was knocked away from his shoes, she exclaimed, “He was literally knocked off his feet!” These are the sparkling moments that make literally worth waiting for.