Deep definition
Language is full of dead metaphors nobody examines. Literalization reanimates them by obeying them exactly, which exposes how insane our idioms are and creates an image nobody expected.
Why humans laugh
Semantic reanalysis: the listener is forced to re-render an idiom as a picture.
Formula
IDIOM / METAPHOR → OBEY IT EXACTLY → DESCRIBE THE CONSEQUENCE
Good examples
- They said the company is a family, which explains why nobody talks about money and someone is always crying.
Bad example
Ha, 'raining cats and dogs' — imagine that! (Pointing at the idiom is not literalizing it.)
Before → After
We're all wearing many hats here.
We're all wearing many hats here, which is why nobody can see and the CFO walked into a wall.
When to use
Whenever the input is full of jargon or cliché.
When not to use
When the idiom is fresh — there's nothing dead to reanimate.
Common failure modes
- Literalizing an idiom the audience doesn't know
- Stopping before the consequence
Advanced combinations
- LT + AB = the world where the idiom is true
- LT + AC = act out the literal version
Writing
Highlight every cliché in a draft; literalize each once.
Stage
Play it straight — the audience must feel you mean it.
Crowd work
Literalize the phrase an audience member used about their job.
Improv
Build the environment where the metaphor is physically true.
Business
Literalizing your industry's jargon is a full advertising campaign.
Told to the AI as
Detect idioms/jargon and generate their literal physical consequences.
Exercises
Beginner
Literalize 10 corporate phrases.
Intermediate
Write a scene set inside a literalized idiom.
Advanced
Build a bit whose game is that the character only understands language literally.