Continental is a popular bar, located in the East Village of New York City. It usually displays a Sign offering patrons six shots of “anything” for only $12. However, recently this more welcome sign was underscored by a sign banning patrons from using the word “literally” on the premises.

What the sign warned was if anyone was overheard using the word “literally” inside the bar, they would have five minutes to finish their drink and would then have to leave. Even worse, if they were heard to start a sentence with the words “I literally,’ they would need to immediately leave – put down that drink and go.

Literally get thrown out of a bar for saying ‘literally?’

According to the sign on Continental’s window, the word “literally” is the most annoying and overused word in the English language and the bar management were prepared to tolerate it no longer. The sign was spotted by Eden Brower, a musician with the East River Street Band, who immediately took to Twitter to post a photo of the sign, saying she literally couldn't believe it.

However, matters got worse when the sign was later updated to take a jab at the Kardashian clan, by adding the words, “Stop Kardashianism now!”

The tweets of the sign soon went viral on Twitter, with many people taking the whole thing seriously.

Some pointed to sexism by stating this sign was an example of how women’s speech is continually policed, especially after the Kardashian mention appeared.

Art Silverman, producer of NPR’s show “All Things Considered,” suggested the public “literally test the waters” by visiting Continental and saying the banned word, just to see if they do, indeed, get thrown out.

Sign was placed as a joke and a bit of publicity

However, as reported by Timeout New York, the whole thing was merely a joke.

Trigger Smith, the owner of the bar, said if he did enforce that rule, his bar would soon empty out. He asked how he could possibly mean that and be serious and that he “literally” feels sorry for anyone who took the sign seriously.

It turns out the sign was not only a joke, but also a piece of publicity, as after 27 years in business, Continental will be closing its doors by around June 30. It seems they need to relocate and can’t afford to do so. Smith posted on their website to say that if they are busy for the remainder of their time in business, they might have the funds to relocate. One thing is for sure, if you aggressively tell people not to do a certain thing, they are likely to do just that, making it a challenge to get the public into the bar.
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