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> literally lighting billions of dollars in funds on fire Figuratively. But even that's not true, since customers have saved real money and spent it elsewhere.
by quonn 9y ago
> literally lighting billions of dollars in funds on fire
Figuratively. But even that's not true, since customers have saved real money and spent it elsewhere.
- Joeri 9y agoSo, uber is really a secret socialist scheme to redistribute wealth from the investors to uber's customers?
- alokdhari 9y agoI should start using Uber more often if that is true.
- CydeWeys 9y agoHeh, it's kind of funny when you look at it like that. It's the opposite of the typical fleecing scheme, wherein a publicly owned company enriches the big guys at the little guys' expense (a la Enron). Uber is doing the opposite, since it isn't publicly traded and only has large rich investors: They're saving lots of little guys' money on car fares at the expense of the few big guy investors.
- pm90 9y agoFor now. Their plan, as far as I can see, is to totally dominate the market. Once, and if that happens, they will raise their prices, and once again the little guy's money will be going in the pockets of the big guys.
- SeanBoocock 9y agoOn a short enough timescale sure. On a longer one it is exactly the opposite: a play to redefine and own the future of automotive transportation.
- CPLX 9y agoLiterally. Usage #2: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally
- ysavir 9y agoWell that's.... Sad. I think I will take what little authority I (don't) have and veto that definition, seeing as it literally defeats the purpose of definition #1. And I was invoking definition #1 there, in case that wasn't clear.
- Asooka 9y agoIt's not quite as bad as you think, literally is usually used figuratively in "A is literally B" to indicate that while A is obviously not literally B, the outcome that A will have will be practically the same as that from B.
- eric_h 9y agoThat's actually a pretty reasonable defense of what I've generally considered a cringe worthy usage of the word "literally".
- coldpie 9y agoLanguage changes, and as speakers of modern English, we should adapt to changes instead of tilting at that particular windmill. However, I commiserate with you over the transformation of a useful word into yet another synonym for "really".
- silviogutierrez 9y agoIt's essentially a contronym now. Not unlike "egregious" [1]. [1] http://www.dictionary.com/browse/egregious http://www.dictionary.com/browse/egregious
- _jal 9y agoI'll just leave this right here. http://www.polysyllabic.com/?q=navigating/intro/prescriptive http://www.polysyllabic.com/?q=navigating/intro/prescriptive