Cartoon duck on grammar

Mallard Fillmore, cartoon duck, discussed use of “literally” a couple of days ago. The cartoon panel reminded me of  possibly the greatest misuse of “literally” since the word was invented.

A couple of years ago I was searching for information on a certain Byzantine archaeology site and came across the blog of some American who had nothing but time and money and was exploring Turkey. The blogger wrote of his trip through the airport in Istanbul: “We literally almost missed our flight.”

My physical reaction was the same as if I put a teaspoon of salt rather than sugar in a cup of coffee. My brain clenched.

“We literally almost …”

Even now my brain goes, “Whaaaat??”

“Further” brings almost the same reaction.

The rule is simple. Further is time, farther is space. “It was five miles farther than I thought.” If someone says, “It was farther than I thought,” a listener can correctly ask, “How far was it?” The same cannot be said of, “It was further than I thought.” A response of “How fur was it?” likely will bring a “What?” look, and you can then tell the speaker he/she is using incorrect grammar. At that point, an argument might ensue, but when you are right, you can hold your own.