🚀 go-pugleaf

On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 21:49:56 -0400, Scott M. Kozel <kozelsm@richmond.infi.net> wrote:
>Josh Turner <shua@umich.edu> wrote:
>> 
>> Scott M. Kozel wrote:
>> >
>> > Josh Turner <shua@umich.edu> wrote:
>> > >
>> > > > Highway patrolmen said that the car literally painted itself onto
>> > > > the wall.
>> > >
>> > > Pet peeve time: The car *did not* literally paint itself on the wall. It
>> > > *figuratively* painted itself on the wall. Why do people insist on using
>> > > the word literally when they really mean just the opposite? AFAIK, there
>> > > is no way that a car can actually "paint itself onto a wall", so the use
>> > > of the word "literally" here is completely inappropriate.

Actually, the leaving of paint on the wall is painting, so even a minor fender
scrape is literally painting itself on the wall.  Hell, I've done that. 
When I first read it (how many times has it been posted, anyways?), that
was my thought.  Not exactly the emotional response Scott had in mind.  The
emotional response was, "oh, not another stupid emotional story that is
supposed to make me ignore the facts."

> >
>> > You're splitting hairs.  Are you an English major?
>> 
>> I am not an English major. However, I believe that when utilizing a
>> language, such as English, one should do so correctly.
>
>Pardon my improper usage of the English language.  My lack of education
>is showing....  :-)
> 
>> And it is far more than splitting hairs. The word "literally" means
>> literally the opposite of what the officer was trying to express...
>
>I'm sure you're heard of a 'figure of speech'.
>
>You should've nailed me also, for saying --
>
>"The first trooper that examined the wreckage was so sickened by what he
>saw that he vomited his guts out".  
>
>That taken literally would suggest that his guts literally came out,
>which they didn't, only the contents of his stomach came out.  But the
>term "vomit your guts out" is an English idiom, which depicts violent
>regurgitation.

I was just reading about a 165 mile footrace they have every year in Death
Valley.  It mentioned one of the competitors vomitted up his stomach lining.
You may go back to eating, now that that picture is inextricably fixed
in your minds eye.

>
>-- 
>Scott M. Kozel    kozelsm@richmond.infi.net  
>Highway and Transportation History Websites  
>Virginia/Maryland/Washington D.C. http://www.richmond.infi.net/~kozelsm
>PHL area http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Campus/5961/pennways.html

jg
-- 
These opinions are my own and not necessarily those of Information Quest or 
Pebble In The Sky http://www.informationquest.com mailto:jgarry@nospameiq.com
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/joel_garry   Remove nospam to reply.  
mailto:joel_garry@compuserve.nospam.com  "See your DBA?"  I AM the @#%*& DBA!