# I could literally crawl away and die **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 2, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105 "2005-11-02T17:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/21 "2005-11-04T18:18:10Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > First of all, DON’T BE A DICK. I realize that prescriptivism versus descriptivism–for some ungodly reason–raises a few hackles each time it’s brought up, but let’s do away with the insults in this forum. If you want to call someone a dick, please take it to the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/22 "2005-11-04T18:21:38Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > Point taken. Thank you for explaining it without the dickishness. Look, uh, I’m sorry you feel I was rude - I didn’t mean to be a dick as I (apparently) was. Maybe I’ve become impatient about these prescriptive grammar threads, but I have to say I was a little peeved to post something longish and (at least I think so) pretty clear and have the points I made be completely ignored next time around. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/23 "2005-11-04T18:25:48Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > And **Left Hand of Dorkness** , I’ll have to write that one down for future use. Thanks. 🙂 No problem. Some other alternatives: “No, seriously, dude!” “I, Dave Barry, am not making this up.” “This is one hundred fucking percent true.” “Literally.” Yep: you can use “literally” to mean “I am not shitting you.” Or you can use “literally” to mean, “I am exagerrating like a motherfuck.” Your listener will literally understand from context what you mean; it’s literally a hoot and a half how that works. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/24 "2005-11-04T18:34:51Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > I realize that prescriptivism versus descriptivism–for some ungodly reason–raises a few hackles each time it’s brought up, but let’s do away with the insults in this forum. If you want to call someone a dick, please take it to the Pit. You know, I’ve been here for 6 years and that’s my first mod warning. I feel like I finally belong. 🆒 Technically, I didn’t call him a dick, I said not to BE a dick. But I guess that’s a “six of one/half dozen” sort of thing and I apologize. ---
**Author:** ![mailman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@mailman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mailman)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/25 "2005-11-04T18:47:45Z")
I’ve always thought James Joyce knew exactly what he was doing with the words he chose. In “The Dead” the final story in Dubliners, the story begins with: “Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, was literally run off her feet.” Can’t you just see the poor thing, running around on those bloody stumps? ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/26 "2005-11-04T18:50:20Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > “I am still not shitting you!” > > Daniel I find “I shit you not” more poetic and just as effective. I shit you not. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/27 "2005-11-04T19:58:33Z")
> [@Speaker for the Dead](#): > > If “literally” loses the meaning “factually” (sort of), what word will replace it? How about “factually”? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/28 "2005-11-04T20:06:23Z")
Too goofy. Let’s say I call a friend while on the Meråkerbanen to Storlien train line. I could tell them I am actually, factually on the way to [Hell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%2C_Norway). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105/29 "2005-11-04T20:23:49Z")
Once I was watching the news and some newsbimbo said “This family has literally been to hell and back.” I couldn’t help but wonder if they took the traditional route of meeting a classical poet in a dark wood, or the modern alternative of finding an interdimensional portal in a bedroom closet. I take no position on the P v. D language debate, but that made me laugh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-could-literally-crawl-away-and-die/329105.md?page=1)