Language is a complex and nuanced subject, but it often helps to remember that “all words are made up.”
Idioms and hyperbole are both used extensively in language to imbue feeling to statements, most people would roll their eyes at someone who interjects with a “there’s no actual evidence that boredom can be lethal” or a “I highly doubt that vendor would accept human limbs as payment,” but somehow lots of people stan for “literal” snobbery.
If it makes you feel any better, you can think of it as a homophone from the same root: “in a manner related to literature,” speaking to artistic yet inexact use of words in a sentence.
Language is a complex and nuanced subject, but it often helps to remember that “all words are made up.”
Idioms and hyperbole are both used extensively in language to imbue feeling to statements, most people would roll their eyes at someone who interjects with a “there’s no actual evidence that boredom can be lethal” or a “I highly doubt that vendor would accept human limbs as payment,” but somehow lots of people stan for “literal” snobbery.
If it makes you feel any better, you can think of it as a homophone from the same root: “in a manner related to literature,” speaking to artistic yet inexact use of words in a sentence.