A correspondent quotes: _For the last three years I literally coined
money_, and, _My hair literally stood on end_. The common misuse of
this word is so absurd that it would not be worth while to protest
against it, if its daily appearance in every newspaper did not show
that it was tolerated by educated people. Mr. Fowler writes:

'We have come to such a pass with this emphasizer that where the truth
would require us to acknowledge our exaggeration with, "not literally,
of course, but in a manner of speaking", we do not hesitate to insert
the very word that we ought to be at pains to repudiate; such false
coin makes honest traffic in words impossible. _If the Home Rule Bill
is passed, the 300,000 Unionists of the South and West of Ireland will
be_ literally thrown to the wolves. _The strong "tête-de-pont"
fortifications were rushed by our troops, and a battalion crossed the
bridge_ literally on the enemy's shoulders. In both, _practically_ or
_virtually_, opposites of _literally_, would have stood.'




INFINITELY

This word, like _infiniment_ in French, is commonly used for
'extremely', and it is pedantic to object to it by insisting always on
its full logical meaning; but it should be avoided where measurable
quantities are spoken of; for instance, one may say _to indoctrinate
the mob with philosophical notions does infinite harm_, but to say
that _England is infinitely more populous than Australia_ is absurd.
That one can rightly call atoms infinitely small means that they are
to our senses immeasurable, and the word, as it here carries wonder,