See my reply to Joe above, but regarding your specific example...
Legolas Send a noteboard - 13/04/2024 12:55:11 PM
View original postI think most people who misuse literally, especially sports announcers, have no clue they are literally dumbasses. For starters, it's unnecessary. "He has been carrying the team on his back," is perfectly fine on it's own. Adding literally before carrying serves no useful purpose other than, as Tom suggests, to try and make yourself sound more clever.
View original postIt fails.
Of course it's unnecessary, but for me the question is, if you ask this announcer the definition of the word 'literally', or alternatively, to explain the difference in meaning between that sentence with 'literally' or without it, what would he say?
Even considering the factors I mentioned to Joe, I'm still pretty convinced that he would say 'I wanted to make my statement even stronger, add even more emphasis'. And not 'I wanted to clarify that actually he does not really carry his teammates on his back which would be ridiculous - oh, did I choose the wrong word for that and say the exact opposite?'
A gift for any umbraphiles among us
- 06/04/2024 02:21:05 PM
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Umbraphile isn't a word
- 08/04/2024 05:12:05 AM
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It is a word. It exists.
- 08/04/2024 02:31:49 PM
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No it doesn't. Any retard can pretend a word exists but that doesn't make it so. *NM*
- 08/04/2024 05:26:30 PM
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It does if enough people use it. That's how new words get created and enter a language.
- 08/04/2024 05:32:46 PM
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Not exactly
- 09/04/2024 01:30:30 AM
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Honey, the speakers of our language don't care about the "rules".
- 09/04/2024 07:28:30 AM
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Bah
- 09/04/2024 09:29:40 PM
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No, you're still wrong
- 12/04/2024 12:56:49 AM
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I can see your recalcitrance won't be alleviated by logic or history.
- 12/04/2024 11:49:44 AM
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You're the one ignoring logic and history - have some standards, man!
- 12/04/2024 02:13:19 PM
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Can I have it both ways?
- 12/04/2024 06:04:23 PM
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So you're saying NY Times writers *aren't* la feccia del popolazzo???
- 12/04/2024 06:36:09 PM
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I've long been confused by the 'literally' debate.
- 12/04/2024 09:32:29 PM
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I think perhaps it comes down to intent and knowledge.
- 12/04/2024 10:42:09 PM
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I don't think being generous has anything to do with it - but my exposure to it may be different.
- 13/04/2024 12:37:46 PM
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I haven't been talking about Greek per se. I'm talking about English conventions.
- 13/04/2024 05:13:33 PM
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I'm afraid I have to agree with Joe.
- 12/04/2024 11:28:44 PM
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See my reply to Joe above, but regarding your specific example...
- 13/04/2024 12:55:11 PM
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One thing I won’t miss around here are the holier-than-thou pseudo-intellectuals.
- 09/04/2024 08:11:57 PM
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