literally = "so to speak; metaphorically or hyperbolically" (1864)

[Jonathan Lighter]

Thanks, Ben, for bringing this article to my/our attention.

  JL

Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Benjamin Zimmer
Subject: Re: literally = "so to speak; metaphorically or hyperbolically"
(1864)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On 7/5/06, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
>
> OED actually has one from 1863, written by the English actress Fannie
> Kemble after she'd moved to Georgia. (OED merely notes "improperly used,"
> but a separate subentry seems warranted.)

I offered a few examples from a century earlier in this Language Log post:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002611.html


--Ben Zimmer

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



---------------------------------
Want to be your own boss? Learn how on  Yahoo! Small Business.

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org