Read my lips

[nu57]

Об увольнении опытных учителей: "People with literally a couple hundred years of experience are now replaced by about 15 brand new teachers that are on probation.”
Что вы, никаких преувеличений, буквально.

Comments

[nu57.livejournal.com]

И, оказывается, даже не "уже", а очень давно:

Erroneously used in reference to metaphors, hyperbole, etc., even by writers like Dryden and Pope, to indicate "what follows must be taken in the strongest admissible sense" (1680s), which is opposite to the word's real meaning.