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Originally Posted by ApK
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That's totally different that using "literally" to mean figuratively or "irony" to mean coincidence. Those are cases of people just being clueless about the meanings of the words they used and other people clueless following them, and no one caring enough to get it straight.
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I hope that I can make an interjection here without disrupting the flow of your discussion.
There is at least one other possibility for people using "literally" when they mean figuratively. It could have started out with people using the hyperbole, "almost literally." From there, it was only a small step to people using "literally" when they mean "figuratively." But, it is still a pet peeve of mine when people do it.
Probably my greatest pet peeve concerning word usage is when a man or woman says "we're pregnant." I guess that it started out when someone wanted to be cute and said that instead of saying, "we're expecting a baby." Well, a man and woman can be expecting a baby, but only a woman can be pregnant (carrying a fertilized egg or embryo).