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Overuse has killed the actual meaning of a lot of words. Don't even get me started on 'genius'.
by midgetjones 10y ago
Overuse has killed the actual meaning of a lot of words. Don't even get me started on 'genius'.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoOr 'hacking'.
- cmdrfred 10y ago"Literally" really gets on my nerves.
- semi-extrinsic 10y ago"... What happens next will literally blow your mind" In general I'm literally grateful that the frequently used form of "literally" does not apply literally.
- noxToken 10y agoWe geniuses at Bitely are literally hacking the gourmet food space. It's essentially a Tinder for your Tastebuds.
- RileyKyeden 10y ago> really I see what you did there.
- Bjartr 10y agoLiterally had literally been used to mean "figuratively" for over a century.
- oddlyaromatic 10y agoThis is so true. If people assume that the word "literally" cannot, itself, be used figuratively - to exaggerate a metaphor - they might not truly understand how words work. So people correcting "literally" and mocking those who use it when speaking figuratively is a pet peeve of mine.
- cmdrfred 10y agoIf literally means figuratively sometimes and literally others, doesn't it then essentially lack any purpose whatsoever? It is meaningless in that case.
- oddlyaromatic 10y agoThat's how metaphor works. It actually happens a lot in English, here's a list of so-called "contranyms" http://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-contronyms-words-with-contradictory-meanings/ http://www.dailywritingtips.com/75-contronyms-words-with-con... EDIT I'm actually not crazy about this list, some them are pretty tenuous.
- Chris2048 10y agoHow does metaphor work?
- theseatoms 10y agoFiguratively.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoYou're in good company. Relevant XKCDs: https://xkcd.com/725/ https://xkcd.com/725/ https://xkcd.com/1108/ https://xkcd.com/1108/
- Anthony-G 10y agoYou might like this Oatmeal comic: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/literally http://theoatmeal.com/comics/literally
- EekSnakePond 10y agoI am literally humbled to be a gourmet hacker obsessed with artisan love.
- Chirael 10y agoAnd all the "gourmet" items to be found in the discount aisle of the grocery store.
- rangibaby 10y agoThere's no such thing as gourmet coffee, gourmet rolls or gourmet pizza. Gourmet means one thing: “We're going to charge you more.” The same is true of the word cuisine. The difference between food and cuisine is sixty dollars. - George Carlin
- kjdal2001 10y agoI like a George Carlin quote as much as the next guy, but this doesn't make sense. If gourmet means it costs more, then there absolutely is gourmet coffee, rolls and pizza.
- chc 10y agoHe means the difference is not in the coffee — that "gourmet" is a price tag modifier, not a food modifier.
- haberman 10y agoEverything is "artisan" too.
- chc 10y agoI've always seen "gourmet" as a negative. I've never found a decent food that needed to declare itself "gourmet" — only stuff that knows it's crap and feels the need to overcompensate. For example, the popcorn made with some exotic oil and cheese that you'll get at a high-end movie theater? Never gourmet. The stale popcorn people sell door-to-door to raise money for their school? Pretty likely to be gourmet.
- andyjohnson0 10y agoOr 'hero'.
- nradov 10y agoUnbelievable!
- digler999 10y ago"insane" actually thats my 2nd place nominee. first place is so common even I dont notice it: "key". paying attention is key to success. the key to understanding code is to. being persistent is key. what it should mean is that without $key, $effect cannot be accomplished. what it really means is $key is important/helpful.
- cylinder 10y agoHow about obsessed and love? Americans overuse these two.
- Kdparker 10y agoMy pet peeve is "passion"