I guess not, if you mean literal in the hyperbolic, non-literal sense.
Guess they’ll have to rewrite this definition as it’s no longer definitive.
This is my pet peeve as well. The secretary at my children’s elementary school does this. Drives me bonkers. I really think that when children are reading the newsletter that is sent home by their educational institution it should be free of such glaring grammatical errors.
On a good note: one my oldest’s teachers had a phrase displayed on the wall with an improper use of quotes. I saw it and commented on it, noting that by using quotes the way he was the saying was actually the opposite of what he meant. My daughter relayed my comment to the teacher. The next time I was in the room the quotes were gone.
I mourn the death of bring and take. When the TV ads for certain drugs say, “Bring (whatever) to your next doctor visit.” I wonder how they can be brodcasting from MY doctor’s office, and everyone else’s.
But then hyperbole will have to be taken literally, and I may end up having to eat an entire horse at some point. It’s like the whole dictionary is caught in a feedback loop.
This literally the funniest joke I’ve heard in a while.
The whole dictionary? Is that hyperbole?
MAKE IT “STOP”!
punctuation deliberately misplaced…
“Make” “it” “stop” - typing everything in emphasis quotes is quite surreal.
Since we seem to have drifted from the Op into listing our own pet peeves - here’s mine. On McDonald’s cups are the words “Please put litter in its place”. Huh? Isn’t litter trash that’s thrown on the ground? Thank you, but I’ll put my trash in the garbage can.
Every time I hear someone use “literally” as the OP describes, I think of this scene from Frasier (YouTube video).
This reminds me of one of my favorite lines from the TV show “Psych”.
Jules: Carlton is literally on fire.
Shawn: “Michael Jackson in the Pepsi commercial” on fire, or “misuse of the word literally” on fire?
Huh? See definition 15a and then 1a. They’re identical. Your rule is silly and the commercial is correct.
Most excellent William Shatner impersonation!
later, Tom.
I agree on literal - its meaning needs to be the first definition of literal as we already have the word figurative to mean the 2nd def.
The “word” homogenous drives me crazy, because the people who use it are mistaking it for homogeneous and don’t know the difference, making them look foolish. But soon, it will take over homogeneous.
I’m nonplussed by the use of literally as a modifier. And by nonplussed I mean perplexed which is its definition. Nonplussed does not mean apathetic no matter how many people keep trying to use it as such.
I’m nonplussed by your peeve. And by that I mean, it doesn’t bother me in the least. Or in the “least.” Really (but not literally).
I was so proud of my brother tonight. He went out of his way to use “figuratively” instead of “literally”.
My latest peeve is when people include “no pun intended” or “pun intended” in what they say or write. A pun is so much less clever when you can’t resist the urge to point it out, intended or not.
Figuratively is not a substitute for the second definition of literally. Literally is being used as an intensifier, if you used figuratively it would actually be reducing the intensity of the phrase.