The overuse and misuse of certain adverbs

tempo said:
I was thinking that, instead of misuse, this might be a case of "literally" taking on a new function or added meaning. The thought I was having was that, with an increased use of metaphors to describe people or things, the metaphors become more common and generic. So, telling someone "you're my knight in shining armor" does not hold much sincerity behind it anymore. The use of "literally" with a metaphor such as this is then being used to add emphasis or sincerity to the generic metaphor.

That makes sense to me.
 
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