On 10/11/2016 4:26 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>
> *I'm coming to terms with "decimate" being a synonym for "destroy" rather
> than "kill one in ten". When some talking head says "The town was
> decimated" my natural inclination is to say "Well, 90% of the town is
> fine."
>
However, when they use the term "literally decimate" they had better be
correct!
Incidentally, I heard a farmer from Montana on the radio who obviously
intended to use that but also combined it with a malapropism. He said
that his herd had been "literally disseminated".
Graham