When you misuse the word “literally,” you are using it in the exact opposite way it was intended. When you fuck it up, you fuck it up so bad. It’s not like a little goof. It’s not like you said ...

Few words so rile language purists as the use of the adverb “literally” in a figurative sense, as in, “That movie literally blew my mind.” But as a linguist who studies how English has changed over ...

The political conflict in America, including the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, rests in part upon a language distinction. When does a speaker or writer mean something ...

I often figuratively bristle at George Will’s conservative political columns, but I enjoyed his 8/1 discussion of words like “vibes,” “massive,” “iconic” and “unique,” whose meanings have ...

A FOLLOWER of my Facebook page for Jose Carillo’s English Forum, Maria Fernandez, told me in a post a few weeks ago that she finds phrasal verbs deceiving: “I get confused trying to distinguish them ...

Francesca Citron does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond ...

Felicity Deamer has previously received funding from the AHRC (AH/L004070/1) 2014-2016, and the Wellcome Trust (WT108720) 2016-2019. Figurative language, by which the speaker intends to communicate ...

In the world of professional communication, effective use of figurative language can make your emails, presentations, and conversations more engaging and memorable. But how do you incorporate ...