"Like" vs "Literally"

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Trying to work out what these words mean

1. Synonyms, with "literally" conveying more strength:
"There were like a hundred people at the bar last night"
"There were literally a hundred people at the bar last night"

2. Weak antonyms along the lines of "approximately" vs "definitively":
"This is like the best cup of coffee I've ever had"
"This is literally the best cup of coffee I've ever had"

calstars, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 18:17 (seven years ago)

'literally' means 'approximately' and 'like' means 'fuckin'.

Orbital Ribbonbopper, Inventor of Flying and Popcorn (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 18:26 (seven years ago)

Filler words - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filler_(linguistics)#In_English and discourse markers - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_marker

Prestige varieties of English also use these - "if you will" "essentially" "as a matter of fact"

mfktz (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 18:33 (seven years ago)

Shouldn't that be "This is, like, the best cup of coffee I've ever had"?

A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 3 April 2018 18:35 (seven years ago)

i've literally used "literally" like "actually" and i don't think it annoys people any less so i think people who complain about the non-literal, hyperbolic use of literally are lying.

Philip Nunez, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 18:36 (seven years ago)

the abuse of "literally" is so much more grating, "like" is just a filler word, in line with "um," "uh," and "ah"

flappy bird, Tuesday, 3 April 2018 18:39 (seven years ago)


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