Re:DigitalOcean acquires CSS-tricks
by staticassertion on Tuesday March 15, 2022 @03:06PM
(#30689686)
The hyperbolic use of "literally" to mean "figuratively" goes back hundreds of years.
> : in effect : VIRTUALLY —used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible
will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice
— Norman Cousins
> The "in effect; virtually" meaning of literally is not a new sense. It has been in regular use since the 18th century and may be found in the writings of Mark Twain, Charlotte Brontë, James Joyce, and many others.
edit: HN was loading really weird for me, I didn't see the sibling comment make this point already!
> : in effect : VIRTUALLY —used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or injustice — Norman Cousins
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally
They justify this in a few places, including
> The "in effect; virtually" meaning of literally is not a new sense. It has been in regular use since the 18th century and may be found in the writings of Mark Twain, Charlotte Brontë, James Joyce, and many others.
edit: HN was loading really weird for me, I didn't see the sibling comment make this point already!