document updated 16 years ago, on Feb 24, 2008
Pet peeves that can be fun to be righteously indignant about.
- literally — It can mean "without exageration; in a literal sense"... or it can mean the exact opposite of that. Worse, most people don't seem to grasp that there are two distinct meanings that are polar opposites of each other. (Merriam-Webster passes this off as natural use of hyperbole that one might do to any word (see also dysphemism treadmill). However, if there's only one word in the entire language that one wouldn't exagerate or downplay, surely that word would be "literally"?)
- royal we — "Three groups are permitted that usage: pregnant women, royalty, and schizophrenics. Which one are you?"