literally

[Victor]

Steve Benen noted something on his blog that I've been noticing in
passing in other situations.

First, Benen cites The Hill,

 >"This is not my ideal situation," said Kay Daly, president of the
Coalition for a Fair Judiciary. "Obama could conceivably put a justice
onto the bench that *literally would make Souter look like [Associate
Justice Antonin] Scalia.*"
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/conservatives-gear-up-for-high-court-fight-2009-05-01.html

Benen then comments,

 >Well, yes. *Daly's misuse of the word "literally" notwithstanding*, a
progressive Democratic president, working with a large Democratic
majority in the Senate, is likely to nominate a justice who would be "to
the left" of a Republican nominee. ...
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_05/017994.php

Well, yes, that is a very interesting use of "literally". Of course,
neither I nor Benen are first to have noticed it, by any stretch of
imagination.

 >Recently, strangers I meet seem particularly peeved by people who use
/literally/ to mean /figuratively /(the ones who say things like "he
literally exploded with rage"). Even strangers I don't meet are
fixated—two of them run a reasonably informed blog
<http://literally.barelyfitz.com/> devoted to "tracking abuse of the
word 'literally.' "
As is often the case, though, such "abuses" have a long and esteemed
history in English. ...
http://www.slate.com/id/2129105/

I just thought I'd point out that this is "literally" *not* a dead issue
... and recycle a piece by Jesse Sheidlower.

;-)

VS-)

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