What does “literal” mean as American slang?
Singing Backstreet Boys To Solve A Mystery
A2 English listening practice · American English · Picked for people who know a little
Americans, especially Gen Z and millennials, use the word literal as a strong intensifier, often when they don’t mean it in the strict sense. Literal chills (when music gives you goosebumps), literal tears (when something is moving), I’m literally dying (when something is funny). The pattern attaches “literal” or “literally” to almost any reaction word for emphasis. Some grammar guides complain about this use; American English under 40 keeps using it anyway.
In this clip, a woman watches a friend sing the opening of I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys. Her response: “Literal chills.” The Backstreet Boys reference plus the literal intensifier places this firmly in late-1990s nostalgia and 2020s speech.
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Harder words in this video
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-US 2012 (spoken). These numbers are close, not perfect.
- ▸In American Gen-Z and millennial TikTok and YouTube content
- ▸In American sitcoms about young adults (The Sex Lives of College Girls, Never Have I Ever)
- ▸In American podcasts about pop culture (Pop Culture Happy Hour, NYT Popcast)
- ▸In American sports talk after a stunning play
- ▸In American group chats and friend-group banter