I love the mobile seat + table setup.

So he does know how to read tarot cards.

Indeed, this is called cold reading and is how most of these things work.

Interested foreign language guy question:
Is this a correct use of the word "literally"?

I don't think it's technically correct, but that word has been mangled so badly at this point that I would say the way it's used here counts as common usage.

It has come to a point where literally means both literally and figurativelly depending on context.

Thanks! Got me confused when reading the whole post but then I guessed something like what you just said already.
Just wanted to have some confirmation.

Yeah both of those uses are fine in English. The first usage is "more" correct I would say. Literally is supposed to be used to basically say that the thing is actually happening. The second usage is also common at least in American English. Usually it's used with common figures of speech. "I was literally judging books by their cover." Technically he wasn't, he was judging people. Some people will be pedantic and call you out for that. So if you're taking an English class I'd avoid that usage but it's really common to hear it used that way. "I would literally die." It strengthens the phrase.

It's not mangled, it's just used as a hyperbole. When you say someone is tall as a mountain you're not mangling the word "mountain" in doing so.

Thanks!
And I've heard similar expressions like in the last example you mentioned being used before, so should have known by myself...

Good for him. Get that moonay.

I have a friend who is pretty spooky at it. Believe me I use to be a tarot doubter but she is legit in tune with something.

When she told me she couldn't go to antique stores because of energies I was sure she was full of shit. Then I kept seeing things that made me be more open to it.

Like pulling the death card then a random downpour of rain type shit. One of many.

She's a witch.

But I'm the asshole if I don't take people seriously when they go on about astrology and how it's the perfect system.

To add to this, tarot and other divination methods are a great way to tap into your subconscious to get this kind of insight even if you can't do it normally. Every card can be a lot of things and having a bunch of them in various places could be interpreted in many ways, but (if you're good at it) your mind will snap into one specific interpretation according to your unconscious biases and convinces itself it is the only way to read that configuration.

I once saw someone with a name tag get bent out of shape when the "reader" somehow managed to get her name from the ether. And then she got mad at me for pointing out her name tag.

You are literally correct

death

rain

Yeah close enough.

Let me guess, you're someone who, hmm, finds information on Wikipedia and, aaah, has an interest in decentralised open-source projects. The spirits tell me you are not a fan of Windows and you dislike genocidal maniacs.

That's some Scorpio skepticism. You're a victim of the influence of the stars smh

Oh my god it’s like you KNOW ME

Literally literally means metaphorically now

"foreign language guy"

speaks better English than most native English speakers

When you say someone is literally as tall as a mountain, that literally means that they would be at least 2,000 feet tall.

I don't believe in tarot reading at all, but I did enough middle school goth witch cosplay to know that death is a water card.

Yeah. This is why some people can genuinely believe in the magic while performing the trick.

Yes. In that case it's not used as a hyperbole.

Right, so "literally" indicates that the statement is not a hyperbole.

Not always. When I say my head literally exploded, the word "literally" absolutely is a hyperbole.

ceros is pretty cool, his youtube channel can be a trip

There's literally no difference in the usage.

That defeats the purpose of the word. It makes it mean literally nothing.

Context is the difference. If you're one of the people who can't understand hyperbole and saracsm and such, you'll just have to take my word for it I guess.

You also like Linux and Star Trek

Half correct! I never got into Star Trek.

There's literally no difference in context between those two examples. You're literally just making up the rules.

The death card signifies change, actually. Surely you've seen the Simpsons bit?

Because if my parents had banged 3 days earlier I'd be much more agreeable

Yeah I was gonna say the same!

He makes good content, is often quite funny, has insightful and honest takes... I don't agree with him on absolutely 100%, but, he's a straight shooter, not shilling anything... kinda guy you could actually agree to disagree with on less consequential stuff... which is rare, and admirable.

Hope his foot's doing better... fuck, that shit was crazy.

Never got into star trek, yet.

IT WAS FORTOLD

Speaks better English English closer to an arbitrary standard than most native English speakers

That's what usually happens when you focus on learning the "standard" in isolation instead of being exposed to stigmatized non-"standard" dialects as a child as you acquire your mother tongue.

Happens with literally every language, not just English.

It's emphasis in this context rather than its actual definition.

This comment is literally correct, and all of the responses to it are literally /c/badlinguistics, so of course this comment is the one that gets downvoted.

They angry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That's not how language works.

Also, it's funny how people always get their panties in a twist about "literally", but never other autoantonyms like "cleave" or "sanction".

It's almost as if context does allow language to keep working when autoantonyms exist, and the prescriptivists' snobbery and "concern" for the "purity" of the language is really just an excuse to lord their own adherence to an outdated and arbitrary set of rules over their interlocutors.

I mean Star Wars

I love him, it's so obvious most of his stories are made up bs for clicks and I'm here for it!

It's like hearing a wildly exaggerated story being told by that one friend but you don't say anything and don't interrupt because he's a good storyteller.

Your other two examples you can get from context.

The purpose of "literally" is to define the context. It can't be used figuratively and retain any meaning.

Tbh most people into astrology don't take it that seriously either it's just for fun.

And has since at least the 1700s.

This is what AI/LLMs do also.