Your protestations about “literally” are literally wrong

Oh god, this debate is getting old :-)

There are two ways to "misuse" "literally": - You believe it means "figuratively" or "metaphorically". Like: "The hyperloop is a revolutionary technology, it is literally an iPhone". Using it in this way is plain wrong, no matter if you are descriptionist or perscriptionist. "It doesn't mean what you think it means." - You use it as hyperbole. "I had such a hangover, my head literally exploded". Well, it certainly didn't explode for real, it's clear you're exaggerating. Everyone knows it's a metaphor, you just want to reinforce it. a la "Really guys, it was almost as bad as if it really did explode". This is not wrong, but people often don't get it (when they're smart enough to know the difference, but don't pick up the hyperbole) (- Or you could use it ironically and mix it up on purpose. However, people probably won't get that either.)

Word definitions are determined by usage, sure.

Guess what, though? Usage is defined by what people think is correct, including how they argue about that usage and what it "should" be.

If you embrace descriptivism, you don't get to reject prescriptive arguments as "wrong" on the basis that ZOMG, there are no rules. It's like saying a policy arguments is "wrong" because a poll reveals that people exist who don't agree with that argument - you're not even talking in the right context.

Or, put another way, if enough people continue to spell "past" as "passed" ("I went passed the sign..."), then eventually one of the definitions of "passed" will include "alternate spelling of 'past'". But someone isn't wrong to say, "That should be 'past', not 'passed'.", even if some people are spelling it wrong.

I wish people would stop using the word "wrong" in this context. Words may have more than one meaning, and if people choose to use words that way, the meanings are not wrong even when they contradict each other.

Example -- Joe says about Larry, "He's really a baaad dude." The appropriate response is to determine the context of the remark, not assume the word is being misused.

Makes me think about "Archer", they make a pretty good use of using it wrong.

This is stunningly similar to the kind of scathing comebacks littering my 7th grade diary. Thankfully, when I was 11 we didn't publish our snarky takedowns online. This poor author will doubtless feel terrible when she grows up and looks back on the drivel that was published under her name.