# I swiftly herewith consign to the pit, the ignorant clowns who misconstrue "its" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 11, 2012, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871 "2012-07-11T05:44:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/301 "2012-07-15T22:33:06Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > One language dilution that makes me sad is the use of “literally” to mean “figuratively”. As in “the guy was literally eight feet tall”. I believe that some dictionaries now have it as an accepted usage. It bothers me because I don’t know of a word --or even a short phrase-- that conveys the meaning “literally” with similar efficiency. “Actually” underwent a similar dilution and won’t suffice. > > I have a mental image of the people of who use literally to mean figuratively and it’s not a flattering image. See? See?! Nobody actually _cares_ about literally, they just parrot this stupid goddamn objection over and over because they were taught to. And here’s **Indistinguishable’s** [post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15269545&postcount=205). In this very same thread even. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/302 "2012-07-15T23:09:03Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > I can’t believe THIS thread of all things has gone on for 300 posts. Is \*someone wrong on the internet \*again? This thread is full of apropos usernames, but the match of yours to that post takes the cake. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/303 "2012-07-16T01:41:09Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Somebody is butthurt. > > . Naw, he’s just a troll. he doesn’t really give a shit about this, he clearly knows nothing about it, all he knows this is a subject that will get Dopers riled up. Next threads are tipping, cat declawing and circumcision. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/304 "2012-07-16T01:42:44Z")
Itsa trap? ! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/305 "2012-07-16T01:45:21Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Itsa trap? ! Admiral Akbar agrees with you. 😃 DNFTT. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/306 "2012-07-16T05:52:14Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > In German (the mother of English), they just flattened all the adverbs outright long ago. I guess they’re too efficient to waste time getting indignant about such things. No. They’ve been discussing it for centuries but only now have reached the verb at the end of the sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/307 "2012-07-16T06:08:41Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > No. They’ve been discussing it for centuries but only now have reached the verb at the end of the sentence. That deserves a slow clap. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/308 "2012-07-16T13:37:48Z")
BTW, I’ll use “proscriptive” to mean “prescriptive” as much as I want, and anyone who tells me I can’t is a damned prescriber (and a proscriber). ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/309 "2012-07-16T16:37:28Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > So, if you think its just a bunch of slackers that don’t give much of a shit about its and it’s when it comes to informal communication you are quite mistaken. I think it’s equivocation over the site’s title. > [@Baal Houtham](#): > > It bothers me because I don’t know of a word --or even a short phrase-- that conveys the meaning “literally” with similar efficiency. It’s not literally the same meaning, but indubitably could work. Or syntactically, depending… ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/310 "2012-07-16T16:44:50Z")
Frankly, the non-figurative use of literally usually strikes me as redundant. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/311 "2012-07-16T16:45:34Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Admiral Akbar agrees with you. 😃 > > DNFTT. Oh beejeezus. You are saying Jar Jar Binks is going to save my internet soul? My gawd if its come to this I might as well commit internet suicide… ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/312 "2012-07-16T19:12:25Z")
> [@greenslime1951](#): > > Specifically, those who don’t understand the difference between “it’s” and “its” and use them interchangeably. I know the difference between the it is contraction, and its. Frankly, Im just too lazy for apostrophes. However, since they are important to you, let me give you these to use as necessary ‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’‘’ ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/313 "2012-07-16T20:01:45Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > Frankly, Im just too lazy Yep. It shows. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/314 "2012-07-16T20:11:19Z")
This from the guy who can’t be bothered to capitalize Lance. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/315 "2012-07-16T20:34:15Z")
[**The rot is irreversible**](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2174407/Julie-Sheriff-murder-Killed-rival-afro-comb--row-territory.html) (apart from the story itself). ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/316 "2012-07-17T13:54:10Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > This from the guy who can’t be bothered to capitalize Lance. Ah, but lance is not capitalized. It’s my legal name that way. Says so on my birth certificate. Take that, Mr. Stickler. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/317 "2012-07-17T13:55:53Z")
Then your mother sucks at English and you should feel bad. If you truly cared about the language, you’d know that proper nouns are always capitalized and you’d have corrected it as soon as you were capable. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/318 "2012-07-17T23:46:58Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Then your mother sucks at English and you should feel bad. If you truly cared about the language, you’d know that proper nouns are always capitalized and you’d have corrected it as soon as you were capable. Prescriptivism is for ninnies! I heard it here on this thread. I can do whatever I want with language and nobody can say I’m wrong! And don’t talk about my mother that way. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/319 "2012-07-22T03:32:36Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > For what it’s worth, using “literally” as a generic intensifier really makes my blood boil, too. It’s truly a plague on the English language. I know I’m really laid-back on usage peeves in general, but this one actually drives me insane. In fact, it’s quite soul-crushing. I just now read this… My soul is literally crushed. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871/320 "2012-07-31T15:10:32Z")
Also, damn it, internet people, “cite” is a verb. “Citation” is the noun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-swiftly-herewith-consign-to-the-pit-the-ignorant-clowns-who-misconstrue-its/627871.md?page=17)