Is not synonymous with "the Amelia Bedelia" sense. For example, when I read that "the medievals were literally full of beans"-- I do not understand "literally" to be a clue that if we were to cut them open we would find nothing but beans. Rather it is a clue that "full of beans" is not meant to be symbolic of some other metaphorical truth that would plainly be expressed in some other way, and that the statement really means something about medievals and beans, although exaggerated. (The actual meaning is that beans formed a large part of the medieval diet.)
*In case you don't know, Amelia Bedelia was the main character in a popular series of children's books. She was a nanny/maid and would always take instructions from her employer "over-literally" e.g. spreading dust on the curtains when told to "dust" them, making a cake out of a calendar when told to "make a date cake".
