Taking things literally

This week the Charles Fudgemuffin blog takes a look at a few examples where things were taken just a little bit too literally.

1) The top states to live in

If you're American and you've ever wondered what the top states to live in are, then the following image provides the answer.

Bonus Alaska joke:

An Alaskan was on trial, and the prosecutor asked him, "Where were you on the night of October to April?"

Funny 'literally' quotes (part 5)

From time to time I literally like to feature quotes highlighting misuse of the word 'literally' on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog, but incredibly, it's been almost three years since my last round-up of amusing misused literally quotes!

Leona Lewis, pictured after winning the X Factor.

However, this week the wait is literally over, as I finally get around to featuring another batch of funny 'literally' quotes starting with a quote from Leona Lewis after she won The X Factor...

1) ''I literally jumped out of my skin!''
~Leona Lewis



2) "Aston Villa have literally metaphorically had their pants pulled down."
~Dion Dublin

Make your mind up, Dion! Which one is it!? Literally or metaphorically?

“Craig Bellamy has literally been on fire!”

This week I revisit one of my favourite subjects as I round-up another batch of amusing quotes from sports stars, politicians and celebrities who have used the word 'literally' incorrectly. So if you're one of those people who literally gets on your high horse whenever people misuse the word literally, look away now.

For reasons of decency, I decided to base this photo
on the second quote, rather than the first quote.

For added effect, I literally like to imagine an image of each quote as I read it...

1) “The Liverpool defence have literally been caught with their trousers down.”
…Andy Townsend


2) “He’s literally sold the defender a dummy.”
...Jamie Redknapp


3) "Why should any of us literally take food out of the mouths of children?"
...Sen. Barbara Boxer

"My stomach literally fell out of my body!"

Andre Agassi prepares for his next tennis match.

When people misuse the word 'literally' it drives me literally insane!  Well, actually it drives me figuratively insane.

Here's another round-up of amusing quotes featuring misuse of the word 'literally...

1) "Harry Redknapp is going to be literally, literally pulling his hair out."
...John Scales


2) "When Andre Agassi meets a qualifier, he tends to literally steamroller them."
...Ian Carter


3) “When my name wasn’t read out, my stomach literally fell out of my body.”
...A model on Britain’s Next Top Model uses an extreme method to lose weight.

"Everton are literally a bag of Revels!"

Non-literal use of the word literally.

As time goes by, languages evolve and words which once meant one thing can gradually come to be used to mean something else. One such word which has changed it's meaning over the years is the word 'literally' ... and now it's official!

A Norwegian woman wearing her birthday suit.

The latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary includes an additional definition which acknowledges that when used informally, 'literally' can be ‘used for emphasis rather than being actually true’ such as ‘we were literally killing ourselves laughing’.

In honour of this linguistic update, I've listed below a few sporting examples which literally conjure up some strange images.  First of all, as you can see from this opening quote, child-birth must be absolute agony for Norwegian woman...

1) “You were up against the Norwegians who are literally born on skis.”
...Kate Silverton


2) “Everton are literally a bag of Revels.”
...Paul Merson

"People are literally tearing their hair out!"

Misuse of the word 'literally' can conjure up some strange mental images.

"You'll literally laugh your head off!"

I read in the paper recently that one of the things that annoys a lot of people about modern language is the misuse of the word ‘literally’. Apparently some people are literally tearing their hair out at the regularity with which this word gets used incorrectly.

However, I remember watching Stephen Fry argue once that language is a living thing and that language is constantly evolving. So if people are constantly using a word to mean something other than what it was originally intended, you could therefore argue that after a certain length of time this word then acquires a new meaning. For example the word ‘fabulous’ originally meant ‘pertaining to fables,’ i.e. a centaur or a griffon, for example. However, nowadays ‘fabulous’ is just a word which posh people use to mean ‘brilliant’.

I remember arguing with a mate once about language and when I quoted the wisdom of Stephen Fry on language in support of my viewpoint my mate then suddenly conceded the argument stating, ‘You can’t argue with Stephen Fry when it comes to language.’* I would have to agree, so maybe you could argue that the word ‘literally’ has now developed a new meaning, i.e. ‘literally’ now means ‘not literally at all’.

* Although you can certainly argue with him when it comes to many other subjects.

Anyway, whether the word ‘literally’ has obtained a new meaning or not, when taken literally it can produce some interesting mental images, so I thought it would be a cool idea to compile a list of quotes which quite literally use the word ‘literally’ in a totally non-literal sense.