two words I really HATE
are; “yet”
and “Literally”
“The Boxer was ugly and brutal, yet tender towards babies and dogs”
“She is a bleached blond, yet her intelligence is unquestioned”
Try those two sentences with “AND” instead of “YET”
They still make plenty sense. Not only that, they lack something that was too much in evidence before; the idea that we can only be one thing at a time. When I think about it, it seems that “And” as a connector is so much beter in most cases.
“Literally” is so misused, I don’t even know where to start. It means, “In a literal or strict sense” and can be used as an intensifier for an adjective or adverb- but I wish it weren’t, frankly. Too often the usage denies its actual meaning, as in this sentence, which came up yesterday, describing a beautiful girl’s eyes;
“frequently seeming to literally sparkle in the sun”
As used here, it turns the sentence into an oxymoron; Either those eyes *seem* to sparkle, or they *literally* sparkle, so which is it?
Lets all promise to watch that Literally usage so I don’t have to come after you with a stick ..
