For what it's worth, my dictionary says that 'literally' can be used as an intensifier before a figurative expression to mean 'without exaggeration'.
I think it's a word that people toss into their flow of conversation out of habit (a mannerism), because they hear others doing it (mimicry), and because it allows them time to think of what they're going to say next.
Sorta like, you know, a kinda whatchamacallit, you know, filler thingie, you know?
It annoys me when people use the word literally incorrectly
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For what it's worth, my dictionary says that 'literally' can be used as an intensifier before a figurative expression to mean 'without exaggeration'.
I think it's a word that people toss into their flow of conversation out of habit (a mannerism), because they hear others doing it (mimicry), and because it allows them time to think of what they're going to say next.
Sorta like, you know, a kinda whatchamacallit, you know, filler thingie, you know?