I wanted to put down literally (no pun intended) with no second word That is, the word should simply be removed, as it is used for stress, but literally changes the meaning of the sentence (pun intended.)

I assume that is what you meant when you suggested figuratively. However, making the replacement would not only not be what the speaker wanted, it would work against the intended meaning of the sentence!

In reply to Re^4: poll ideas quest 2015 by chacham
in thread poll ideas quest 2015 by pollsters

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