Literal vs. Figurative, Pt. II

For the idiom just posted below, some English natives might write, "Melissa is literally a ray of sunshine for everyone at the office."

This would be completely incorrect. Literally, Melissa is a human being, not a ray of light. Figuratively, she might be a ray of sunshine, but certainly not literally.

Using "She's a real ray of sunshine" is using a much lighter touch.

In both cases, the culprit is the common use of exaggeration in English. Those who say "a real ray of sunshine" try to use the word "real" as a strengthener; that is, a word to add emphasis to the sentence, like the bold I am using for this text (if you are seeing the text here on the blog, anyway). Rather than, for example, shouting the idiom out, people use certain words for emphasis.

Long ago, someone could say "a virtual ray of sunshine" and that would be strong enough. In popular American culture, people have become so accustomed to exaggeration that they will literally say, "She's literally a ray of sunshine." Nonetheless, this is wrong.

It is never correct to use a word as strong as literally for something that is not correct and true in reality, rather than in a figurative expression. More importantly, you cannot possibly sound well educated and articulate if you abuse the word "literally" for things that are not literal.

If only all native speakers followed this advice.

A Ray Of Sunshine

Figuratively, sunshine is strongly related to happiness. Therefore, a ray of sunshine is someone or something that brings happiness to others. Ex.: "Melissa always comes to work with a smile of her face. She's a real ray of sunshine to everyone at the office."

Teflon and Velcro

Both Teflon and Velcro are trademarks for artificial substances. Teflon is a coating used because it is low friction. Velcro is used because it sticks very well to other Velcro; it is used for simple shoes. A Velcro strap attaches to another Velcro strap without the need for a buckle. As a side effect, other substances tend to stick to Velcro in unwanted ways; this is particularly problematic for cotton (a common part of socks).

When used idiomatically, for example, applying to American presidents, "a Teflon president" is a president to whom no scandal will stick. "A Velcro president" is a president to whom all scandals seem to stick, even those that ought not negatively affect him personally.

Originally, "Teflon" was used as an idiomatic adjective with wide usage (such as with John Gotti, "The Teflon Don," a noted American Mafia leader who for many years escaped punishment, being found innocent in several criminal trials). Since Velcro sticks to anything, journalists have adopted "Velcro" as the opposite of Teflon, and idiomatically use the word to spice up news stories.

Reference: http://www.latimes.com/la-na-velcro-presidency-20100730,0,375806.story

Under A Cloud

Full version: "Under a cloud of suspicion." Someone under a cloud is someone who is suspected of wrongdoing without clear evidence of guilt. Ex.: "As rumors of a plea deal emerge, Representative Charles Rangel remains under a cloud of suspicion of ethics violations despite denying all wrongdoing." (This is a real case happening right now.) Despite denials, allegations that have not been proven in a trial (a trial which may never occur of a plea deal happens) have clouded Rep. Rangel's reputation.

Stealing Someone's Thunder

To "steal someone's thunder" is an expression for taking the credit and praise for something someone else did. That is, someone else does the work, but you take the credit. Ex.: "Brian worked for a whole week on that project, but Dave acted like it was all his doing. You shouldn't go stealing someone else's thunder like that." Dave took credit for Brian's hard work.

In the movie "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief," a character steals the thunderbolt of the ancient Greek god, Zeus. While fiction, this would be stealing someone's thunder figuratively and literally.

Hitting the Sack

As detailed in "hitting the hay," sacks filled with hay were once used as mattresses in the United States. Thus, the expression "hitting the hay" came into wide use as a metaphor for going to bed and going to sleep. Ex.: "I'll hit the sack after I finish watching Jay Leno." (Jay Leno's comedy show is a late night television program, so anyone watching it is automatically up late to begin with.)

Hitting the Hay

Hitting the hay is an expression for going to sleep. Even when a far greater percentage of English-speaking society lived on a farm, humans did not actually sleep on hay itself; hay is made of straw, and straw prickles. Many domesticated animals, however, can sleep on hay just fine. More importantly, hay stuffed in sacks was often used as mattresses in the United States at the start of the 20th century (circa 1900). Thus, hitting the hay became an idiom for laying down on one's bed and going to sleep. Ex.: "I'm going to hit the hay right after making this last blog post..." This means, I will go to sleep after making this last blog post.