I see what you mean. I thought you meant the intention was to be 'ironic' simply by using the wrong word. Still, it's hardly irony. Ironic would be if they were claiming to be concerned about illiteracy and then said 'My head is LITERALLY exploding over this'.promethean75 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 01, 2022 2:01 pm it's because the ironic use of the word 'literally' is not intentional in the speaker, while the ZZ Top reference is (most likely). dude prolly isn't growing a beard on purpose to effect that irony.
so to taxi, the ironic use of the word 'literally' is arbitrary at best and indicative of illiteracy in the speaker who uses it that way, at worst.
that's actually right tho. nobody says 'dude I literally, etc.' with some intent to be ironic. it's just some superfluous idiom that developed as a way to assist or enhance the exclamatory value and force of an utterance. and really only if whatever they did 'literally' was something rare and unusual, would the use of the word 'literally' be appropriate... as in 'no dude, for real, i literally jumped out the window and landed in the car seat (a convertible with the top down).
Other than that, you wouldn't say 'i 'literally' got up and got a Pepsi' because I wouldn't doubt that you did. That's nothing unusual. You don't need to signify that you REALLY got up and got a Pepsi.
Another irony. All those American relgious leaders who preached that covid was a hoax and advised against vaccination who then went on to die of covid.
An interesting one from Wiki. ''When John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, all of his shots initially missed the President; however, a bullet ricocheted off the bullet-proof Presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the chest. Thus, a vehicle made to protect the President from gunfire instead directed gunfire to the president.''