Stop Using Words in the Wrong Context!

I need to set something straight with everyone who uses words in the wrong context. All around me I hear people my age using words such as "epic", "literally", "enormity" and "like" in the wrong context.

 First of all, the word "epic" does not mean, nor will it ever mean, "awesome". The proper definition of epic is something pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epic). One should not say, "Epic! Free movie tickets!" The more correct context would be, "I wrote my thesis on The Odyssey, an epic poem attributed to Homer".  It can also mean heroic, majestic, or impressively great. This is where I think people stretch the meaning of the word for everyday slang. I can say "the epic events of the war", but you would not say that your hangover was "epic". The epic events of the war pertain to soldiers who acted heroically and whose actions can be compared to those of the epic heroes such as Odysseus. Perhaps the events of the war are worthy to form the subject of an epic.

One of the most misused words is "literally".  For example, I have overheard a conversation where a woman said that she laughed so hard, she literally died. If she had "literally died", should would not be around to talk to her friends. Some people use "literally" figuratively, but "literally" means the opposite of "figuratively". In this case, she should have said, "I figuratively died". However, that just sounds weird. To avoid such awkward phrasing, she should have chosen her words better. Another poor example is when someone may say, "Steam was literally coming out of his ears". The phrase, "steam was coming out of one's ears" is a figure of speech used to describe the amount of one's anger. Steam never "literally" comes out of ones's ears.

"Enormity" is another commonly misused word. It means "extreme evil", but it is more commonly used to mean "enormous".  George H.W. Bush said he "could not believe the enormity of the situation". That is not the proper context of the word enormity. One could say, "I cannot believe the enormity of his actions", which means you cannot believe the evil or wickedness of his actions.

"Like" should not be used 100 times in a sentence without a proper reason. "Like" is an adjective, adverb, a preposition,  a verb and a noun. It should not be used as a filler word. For example, do not say, "I was, like, so annoyed with him!" Just say, "I was so annoyed with him". There is no need to wantonly throw "like" in the middle of your thought. This is a common problem in oral speech rather than written. Here is an example for the proper use of the word like: "It looks like rain."

You can tell me that I think too much. There is no such thing as thinking too much when you need to think about how to use words in the proper context.