June 19, 2009

more crap

so i've been meaning to rant for some time now about how unbelievably furious i get when people misuse the word "actually". as in: you play them some awesome song that no one could possibly dislike and they say "that's really good actually!"

but then some upstart blogger beat me to it. so anyway i'm going to shit out a couple of other word-use phenomena that've been making me increasingly angry before someone beats me to it:

(1) "Random"-- i don't feel like fully exploring how badly most people my age butcher the meaning of random. I'll just say this: those 25 Random Things i read About You on Facebook last January were NOT random. pretty much the exact opposite actually.

(2) "Literally"-- So I guess it's become vogue to point out/make fun when people misuse "literally". As in, "I literally shit a brick" or whatever. But like, isn't this just hyperbole? And really clever hyperbole at that?

I read something recently (Slate?) about how this use of "literally" bothers people, but no one ever cares when people use "really" in exactly the same way. As in, "the UVa baseball team really fucked the dog last night". No one is like, "really? they REALLY fucked the dog last night??" But it's the same shit.

It's the same shit.
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4 comments:

  1. Cunado11:33 AM

    Every upstart blogger beat you to the point.
    http://cunado.blogspot.com/2009/04/crispy.html
    The reports about the UVa baseball team are accurate. But, I was sad to see them lose. Or, sad to see them not win after ten innings, then learn the next day that they later lost.

    Your rant failed to include "chronic" which, while less popular than random, was/is no less irritating.

    My word for today is: exere.

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  2. Sam12:10 PM

    1. I am pretty sure I misuse literally all the time, but I stopped giving a care.
    2.The teens I work with won't stop saying "Awwwwwwk-ward" whenever anything awkward happens. I kind of want to be annoyed, but the thing is, they are always right. For whatever reason, we have raised a generation of kids that can discern, with 100% accuracy, when situations are awkward. Not when they are genuine or sublime or wondrous, just awkward. Well, ok.
    3. I don't really remember any of the correct comma usages anymore (aside from in lists), so I am just going to keep putting them wherever I want. I realize your post was not about grammar, but this gives me a forum to let people know I acknowledge my poor comma usage, yet still refuse to change.

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  3. Blogadier General12:18 PM

    you couldn't have chosen a more effective forum

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cunado1:41 PM

    It's mere chance that I put a comma (or word or symbol) in its appropriate place. I am the least grammatical of all of us. So, Sam, I won't judge you if you won't judge me... too harshly.

    David, thank you for this forum where an open and honest exchange of half-baked ideas can take place.

    - Douglas

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