They may not all have literally stopped the show — often the fault of a malfunctioning set piece — but they offered, in one way or another, frissons of the sublime.
One state legislator, Bubba Carpenter, was videotaped in May telling a gathering of Republicans that with the new law the Legislature had "literally stopped abortion in the state of Mississippi".
Making cunning use of the rough terrain and high mountain passes, the guerrillas had literally stopped the Soviet army in its tracks by ambushing supply convoys and tank columns.
Attacking Clinton has literally never hurt Trump, so why stop now?
Like, it completely seized up and all the muscle went rock solid and it was so painful, and I tried to keep going but eventually had to be like, "Ugh, sorry – wait, wait, wait, I've got cramp!" That's basically it, but, like, who gets cramp so bad they have to literally stop fucking?
"I had to literally stop the show just as I was about to meet my lover, Edgardo," she recalled with laughter.
"It has literally never happened.
D'Souza has literally defended Adolf Hitler.
Any instrument has, literally, infinite possibilities.
He said: 'I gave you that face – you can't hide a lie and nor can I.' He literally stopped having people round in case they saw his face.
