Nope, not "I love you." Not even "I'm the decider."
A comment I made in a different thread got me wondering which words in English are most often used or abused. There's no objective measure, obviously, so I say we nominate our own. My nominees:
1. Literally - The most abused; almost always used to mean it's exact opposite, "figuratively."
2. Ironically - Almost never used to describe something ironic; usually used to mean "coincidently" or "surprisingly."
3. Penultimate - Used as a synonym for ultimate by people who think four-syllable words will make them sound smarter (I'm just messing, with you, Oerdin )
What are yours?
A comment I made in a different thread got me wondering which words in English are most often used or abused. There's no objective measure, obviously, so I say we nominate our own. My nominees:
1. Literally - The most abused; almost always used to mean it's exact opposite, "figuratively."
2. Ironically - Almost never used to describe something ironic; usually used to mean "coincidently" or "surprisingly."
3. Penultimate - Used as a synonym for ultimate by people who think four-syllable words will make them sound smarter (I'm just messing, with you, Oerdin )
What are yours?
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