My head literally exploded!

There’s just about, maybe, sometimes, occasionally, nothing worse than people using literally, but not using it literally.
People naturally like hyperbole because they feel it makes them sound smarter and they need to one-up each other. So people began saying things such as, “I’m in shock,” when they weren’t. That forced writers and other grammatically responsible people to have to start saying literally to differentiate cases where people really, medically, were in shock. The masses, still addicted to hyperbole, then appropriated “literally,” making them both hyperbolic and incorrect. Which led us to the tragic reality in which we now literally live.

Items before the Assizes:
Oyez, Oyez, Oyez! On the docket:

A lower court ruled that since a “bombshell” is a surprise, all bombshells are new, and this phrase is redundant. Appellants argued this particular trial had produced several bombshells, and these were just the latest. The Rules Committee opined: “We REVERSE. ‘New bombshells,’ while a cliché, is not redundant.”

And we go to the video archives for Segment 63: Are you gruntled? https://youtu.be/m2-ld_hp3QI

Readers: "Something Went Horribly Wrong," features samples of bad writing we see nearly every day. You can participate! Be our duly deputized “grammar police:” Your motto: “To protect and correct.” Send in your photos of store signs, street signs, newspaper headlines, tweets, and so on. It doesn’t have to be a grammatical error. It can be just what we call “cowardly writing.” Include your name and home town so we can credit you properly. You're free to add a comment, although we reserve the right to edit or omit. Now get out there! Send to Eliot@eliotkleinberg.com

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NOTE: Eliot and Lou Ann are available for speaking engagements, and can travel. Reach us through the comments section. Just think of all of your employees getting back to work on a Monday, their heads filled with all the ways we’ve shown them to be better communicators!