Comments on: literally on the table

By: Fitz

Fitz — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 00:22:52 +0000

Thanks, actually I had not been notified. Cool.

By: grant

grant — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 23:14:35 +0000

I’m sure you all already know this but this blog got a mention by Benjamin Zimmer in this Language Log post.

By: Fitz

Fitz — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 20:53:44 +0000

Screw it, I’ll file under both “unnecessary” and “incorrect”.

Here at “Literally, A Web Log” we are like FoxNews: we report, you decide.

Now where did I put that falafel thing…

By: Charles R

Charles R — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 20:47:22 +0000

I agree with Amber: ‘literally’ appears to be de dicto, operating over the clause ‘everything is on the table’, not operating for any specific part within the clause.

Kudos on the katamari reference!

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 20:06:57 +0000

If I were going to be pedantic, I would argue that the comma changes the meaning of “literally” from modifying “everything” to be a qualifier for the entire clause.

But I won’t.

By: Fitz

Fitz — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 20:04:56 +0000

Netxis, I think you’re right. I’ll reclassify this as “unnecessary”.

By: Netxis

Netxis — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 19:15:42 +0000

Except that on a fair reading, “literally” here pretty clearly modifies “everything,” not “on the table.” (Granted this would be even clearer without the comma, but I doubt the speaker dictated the punctuation.)

I say give them the benefit of the doubt. If it said, “Everything is literally on the table,” then you’d have something. And I think you implicitly concede this when you (re)phrase the title the way you did.

Sure, you could read it your way, but then you’re just going out of your way to make mischief, not really catching out a “clearly incorrect usage.”

And let’s not quibble over “literally everything.” It’s not referring to any figurative everything, after all. It’s referring to (literally) everything in the context of the E-rate rules that are under review.

By: Fitz

Fitz — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 02:12:56 +0000

Amber: good catch. “On the table” is an idiom that means “under discussion”. This is clearly incorrect usage. Only by use of a Katamari could that table be cleared.