Literal-mindedness is the last retreat of the literal-minded, as a rule.

Oh....

By the way -- speaking of respect for language -- I have seen too many people on this site (NOT "sight") dropping the hyphen out of anal-retentive. Please take note. ANAL-RETENTIVE SHOULD ALWAYS BE HYPHENATED. We must not abuse our common ground, less we end up finding each other incomprehensible.... .... .... ....EH?

A