I hate it when...

...people use the expression "literally [something]" when it's not "literally" anything. Wolf Blitzer--who is now on CNN 19 hours a day--just referred to the "pandemonium" that has "literally" broken out on the Senate floor. Pandemonium means [ahem] literally "all demons" and refers to the capital of Hell, built at the suggestion of Mammon in Prardise Lost. So if pandemonium had literally broken out on the Senate floor, it would be a pretty sweet news story, but sadly all I saw was a press conference about a closed session iniated by the minority leader. See, saying pandemonium has broken out is perfectly fine, but it is a metaphor and so by definition it is not literal, but figurative. This is petty, I know, but it drives me nuts.

[UPDATE: Alright, well, coincidentally someone who is much smarter than I am has addressed this issue in Slate today. I think my point about Blitzer still stands--it was silly, and you shouldn't write or speak in a silly-sounding way if you wish to be taken seriously.]