Literally

Yesterday I heard someone use the word “literally” to underscore a point. But what they were saying was not, (and could not be) literal. To me, the word means “actually; without exaggeration or inaccuracy.” It is a good word to use when the actual facts need no exaggeration like “We literally own 15 spatulas.” The speaker loses credibility with me when they say something silly like, “I was literally buried in paperwork at the office” or “My skin was crawling, literally.” No you weren’t and no it wasn’t.

I mean, maybe I can believe that you were figuratively buried in paperwork or it felt like your skin was crawling, but don’t say literally unless you are talking about your IQ being in the double digits.