# What is this linguistic phenomenon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 16, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039 "2021-03-16T18:10:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/41 "2021-03-17T09:59:20Z")
You don’t agree that it would be unexpected to encounter 10k spoons without ever encountering a knife? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/42 "2021-03-17T10:05:24Z")
Not at a store called “Spoons Galore.” ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/43 "2021-03-17T11:09:01Z")
I was simply correcting the notion that the song defines irony in a way that implies just an unfortunate event is ironic. It doesn’t. Most of the examples in the song are actual irony where the expectation _does_ run contrary. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Not at a store called “Spoons Galore.” You think this is the straightforward, not at all disingenuous way to parse that example? I mean, find me any example of irony and I can throw in ad hoc suppositions like that to make it not meet the definition any more. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/44 "2021-03-17T11:41:34Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Alanis gets a lot of stick over this, I’ve seen at least two stand-up routines about how Americans don’t get irony, and that this song is the prime example of it. > > But I disagree, I think within the limitations of needing to write song lyrics that fit with a melody, she does a decent job of giving examples of irony. > It’s taken 20-something years but we’re going to put this controversy to rest! I always considered the only real example of irony from that song to be the guy who was afraid to fly but forced himself to get on a plane anyway, and it crashed. At least, from the perspective of his friends and family who likely reassured him that flying is the safest form of travel there is, and he had absolutely nothing to be worried about. Bu then, even to make that example ironic I had to fill in my own back story there about his friends and family. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/45 "2021-03-17T12:24:59Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Say, I wanted to quibble about the meaning of “literally,” and you said that using it to mean “figuratively” “absolutely fits with … everyday language”; you would be correct. I would also be correct in saying that is not the historical meaning of the word, and is in fact at odds with its etymology. But “literally” DOES mean “literally” when used like that. It is being used as an exaggeration, and for an exaggeration to work, it plays on the literal meaning of the words. That’s the whole point. It’s overdone, yes, but is _not_ used to mean “figuratively.” Just like when you say “I’m so hungry, I can eat a million hamburgers,” “million” means “million” there, and the idiom works because what it describes is the impossible. But, anyway, there’s literally millions of threads here that go over the trite “literally” debate. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/46 "2021-03-17T12:34:47Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZQw0W81ubgs/maxresdefault.jpg "Teen Titans Go! | Dramatic Irony | Cartoon Network Africa") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQw0W81ubgs) ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/47 "2021-03-17T12:35:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But “literally” DOES mean “literally” when used like that. It is being used as an exaggeration, and for an exaggeration to work, it plays on the literal meaning of the words. My theory is that ‘literally’ is a live example of how language evolves, for better or worse. 1. First, people who understand exactly what literally means start to use the word for creative exaggeration: “If you tell that story one more time, I’m _ **literally** _ going to rip your head off!” 2. Then, newer generations get so used to the ironic use of literally they lose the ironic meaning and start using ‘literally’ to actually mean ‘figuratively’. 3. Dictionaries finally admit defeat and add the figurative meaning of literally as a secondary definition. 4. The secondary definition eventually becomes the primary, then the only definition. We’re somewhere between stages 2 and 3. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/48 "2021-03-17T13:05:05Z")
What I don’t get is people who object to “literally” and cry about its loss of meaning don’t seem to object to similar words when used as emphatics like “actually,” “really,” and “honestly,” to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/49 "2021-03-17T13:11:25Z")
Do they not? We have some professional writers and editors on this forum who would know about the editing of such language and whether or not it is considered bad writing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/50 "2021-03-17T13:20:32Z")
It’s lazy writing. I’m an English major and taught ESL for a couple years, as well as copy edited at a newspaper for a short spell and proofread a couple novels. I know AP Style best, Chicago Manual of Style, and MLA. This is mostly stuff I did twenty years ago, though. But it’s not like I’m coming from it from an ignorant perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/51 "2021-03-17T13:20:52Z")
I’ve seen an expansion in the use of “officially”, especially from my kids, and it seems to have evolved to mean almost the opposite of the standard definition. As in “officially he’s supposed to be the best guy on the team, but the truth is he’s over-rated”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/52 "2021-03-17T13:23:40Z")
The way your example sentence is stated, it’s sounds like “officially” is used to mean something like “on paper” or “common wisdom” or “the narrative that is being pushed.” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/53 "2021-03-17T13:24:50Z")
So a stand - in for “ostensibly”? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/54 "2021-03-17T13:26:24Z")
“Common wisdom” would probably describe it best. But it’s even used for widespread rumors. The general idea is that the speaker is casting some doubt on the idea, and describes the idea as “officially”, with the intention of suggesting that it may not be true and that the standing it has may not be justified. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/55 "2021-03-17T13:36:27Z")
To me, that feels like a usage of “officially” I grew up with, when it’s contrasted with a “but” or something afterwards. I’d have to hear more examples to see where it diverges. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/56 "2021-03-17T13:38:09Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > But it’s not like I’m coming from it from an ignorant perspective. \*coming to it I need my morning coffee. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/57 "2021-03-17T13:57:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What I don’t get is people who object to “literally” and cry about its loss of meaning don’t seem to object to similar words when used as emphatics like “actually,” “really,” and “honestly,” to name a few. Well, there are plenty of substitutes for emphatics but if ‘literally’ comes to mean ‘figuratively’, what word do we use to mean ‘in an actual, factual sense’? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/58 "2021-03-17T13:58:19Z")
Factually ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/59 "2021-03-17T13:59:16Z")
You could make the exact same argument for “really” and “actually.” “Really” literally means “in actual fact.” “Actually” means “as the truth or facts of a situation; really.” Like you can say, “I’m so hungry, I could really eat a horse right now.” The idiom would typically omit “really” or substitute “literally” for “really,” but it can be used that way, counter to reality. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2021, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039/60 "2021-03-17T14:00:42Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > Factually I factually don’t think that word works quite as well as ‘literally’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-linguistic-phenomenon/938039.md?page=4)