Author: Valerie Fridland

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the rise of people using the word “literally” in a non-literal way is one of the most hotly contested new word usages this century.  Many find this figurative use, as in “I literally died when he said that!” to be annoying at best and grammatically destructive at worst. So, how does a word like “literally” essentially end up meaning its opposite?  Well, the surprising answer is that “literally” had become much more figurative long before we got to using it the way we do today. To see how, let’s look at how…

From our automatic “thank you” as we grab our caramel latte at Starbucks to the genuine “thank you” when a stranger lets your two items go ahead of their full basket in the grocery line, “thank you” is bandied about a lot in daily life. But what seems to be waning is the well-worn “you’re welcome.” Instead, what we hear are things ranging from “no problem” to “you bet” to “sure.” But whatever happened to that old standby, “you’re welcome,” and why do we need so many other ways to respond to thanks? A babe in the woods Although it…