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Re:Why Wallflowers Don't Make Friends by Jedd on Saturday April 29, 2017 @12:25PM (#14227269)
Yeah, okay, I shouldn't have suggested the use of the word 'figuratively' as a surrogate for some emphatic adjective.

Would you be happy with 'I died laughing ...' when people describe something especially funny? (I would, for the record.)

And/or do you think 'I literally died laughing ...' (when people didn't actually die from laughing) to be more emphatic / compelling a commendation?

If someone said 'I literally died twice from laughter ...' would that be doublepluscompelling?

Re:Why Wallflowers Don't Make Friends by coldtea on Saturday April 29, 2017 @01:36PM (#14227692)
>Would you be happy with 'I died laughing ...' when people describe something especially funny? (I would, for the record.)

Then you would already be OK with something analogous to using "literally" as an intensifier.

Since, of course, "died" also means something specific that's unrelated to laughing, and the person uttering the phrase doesn't imply that they actually died.

>If someone said 'I literally died twice from laughter ...' would that be doublepluscompelling?

No, that's why people don't say it. It's the historical evolution of language that dictates what's "doublepluscompelling" or not, not some a priori rules.

Re:Why Wallflowers Don't Make Friends by nommm-nommm on Saturday April 29, 2017 @03:03PM (#14228149)
"He literally glowed; without a word or a gesture of exultation a new well-being radiated from him and filled the little room." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

like

Re:Why Wallflowers Don't Make Friends by Dylan16807 on Saturday April 29, 2017 @01:25PM (#14227626)
Now you're just coming off as mad at intensifiers in general. Sure, you can write without them. Doesn't stop them from being useful.
Re:Why Wallflowers Don't Make Friends by Retra on Saturday April 29, 2017 @02:23PM (#14227908)
None of this is important.