Literally

One of the silliest things I hear people say is the word "literally." "I literally ate more than my own body weight." "She literally bit my head off." Um.... NO! NOT LITERALLY! It's ridiculous and ignorant, and I will not abide by it any longer. If you are going to exaggerate, exaggerate. Use all the hyperextended language you can find, just don't say "Literally" when what you really mean is "figuratively". It's almost as bad as using "virtually" to describe "actuality." It's not virtual if it's actual. It's not literal if it's figurative. It's not literal if it's a figure of speech. And "Literally" is not a figure of speech. You can't use a term, which indicates how one is NOT using a figure of speech, as a figure of speech. Outright silliness. I mean it utterly defeats the purpose of the word. If "Literally" is now a figure of speech, a word of emphasis, used for exaggeration, hyperbole, and imagery, how can I communicate to someone when something I am trying to tell them is entirely literal. I can't say "literally" anymore, can I? Because that's just a figure of speech. They might just think I was exaggerating. They might just think I was trying to make a point, a bunch of rhetoric. I'm all for the flexibility of language, but let's not deliberately ruin it outright. There's a few words we need to use once in a while, thoughts we need to communicate, and I'm tired of everyone taking all the meaning out of the words we're able to use. Soon enough, I'm not going to be able to tell people anything, because nothing will mean anything, because everything means anything. What kind of world would that be? Not one I would like very much.

okay, I'm done.