I'm a word and I'm being abused and misused. Please, call the police!
For example, this morning, someone on TV said that Lindsay Lohan giving up her clothes for a jail uniform was "literally shedding your skin."
Ouch! That hurt! I literally shouted at the TV! "Really? You shed your skin in jail? Believe me, I think LL deserves to be in the slammer but I'm sending her a care package with a good moisturizer this second."
Dear America, please stop abusing me. Do you think it feels good to be overused and misused and basically abused? I feel cheap! I'm just a word. Show some mercy.
I will now turn it over to my very smart and beautiful friend, Fern Ronay. Take it away, Ferny...
~~~
Thanks, L! While some may argue that literally has come to mean 'virtually' or 'in effect', I disagree. On behalf of my friend, I offer you some alternatives. Consider the following:
Shedding your skin, so to speak.
In a way, "shedding your skin." [making use of those cheesy air quotes]
Shedding your skin, figuratively speaking.
Feel better, L?
Today, I am grateful ~
1/ That, while I'm not perfect and make a lot of mistakes, I never overuse, misuse or abuse that word.
2/ For the complicated, often challenging but always glorious English language.
3/ And, especially, for metaphors. I use them often. They work...unless you stick 'literally' in there.
For example, I just told my cat that he "is a furry little meatball." He's not actually a meatball. It's a metaphor.
Now, if I had said "Magoo, you are literally a furry little meatball," then I would deserve to be thrown in jail and have my skin shed.
Follow me and my yearlong project, Stop and Blog the Roses: One Spoiled American's Year of Living Thankfully, on Twitter @fernronay or on Facebook here.
Here is a picture of the meatball hiding in the dryer. He's literally edible. Kidding! Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.
Filed under: Celebrities, English language, Gratitude Journal, Life & Style, Wellness
Tags: English, Gratitude Journal, language, Life & Style, Lindsay Lohan, literally, Wellness, words
amen!
I hear ya.
Yeah I hate that! Cute kitty :-)
Aw, thanks!!