He used the word nine times, according to a search of the transcription service TVEyes.

For example: “We now find ourselves at the hinge of history, and the direction we turn is not figuratively, it’s literally in your hands.”

And: “Look, Barack [Obama] understood that the search for bin Laden was about a lot more than taking a monstrous leader off the battlefield. It was about so much more than that. It was about righting an unspeakable wrong. It was about — literally, it was about healing an unbearable wound, a nearly unbearable wound in America’s heart.”

And: “I want to show you the character of a leader who had what it took when the American people literally stood on the brink of a new depression.”

It’s no surprise, then, that the hashtag “#literally” spread on Twitter, where a drinking game was born and would-be grammarians tweeted quips such as:

If you take a drink every time Biden says “literally,” you literally will be passed out by the time Obama takes the stage. #dnc2012

— Benjamin R. Freed (@brfreed) September 7, 2012

Joe Biden literally thinks “literally” means “figuratively.” #DNC2012

— Rick Klein (@rickklein) September 7, 2012

Is he crying? Literally?

— Sommer Mathis (@sommermathis) September 7, 2012

Literal groans from press box at this last “literally”

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) September 7, 2012

May our misfortune tonight end “literally” abuse forever. #awareness

— Daniel Victor (@bydanielvictor) September 7, 2012

Joe Biden is literally trying to get everyone drunk.

— Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias) September 7, 2012

Biden has finished speaking. Literally. #dnc2012

— The Fix (@TheFix) September 7, 2012

He literally killed it. #onlyhedidnt #anditwasntverygoodeither

— Josh Greenman (@joshgreenman) September 7, 2012

That speech was painful. Literally.

— S.E. Cupp (@secupp) September 7, 2012

34,567 Americans died Thursday night while playing the “Drink When Biden Says ‘Literally’” game.

— Fake Dispatch (@Fake_Dispatch) September 7, 2012