Moving away from a word’s literal meaning requires more than the observation that people sometimes understand something else. Ask whether the literal sense remains usable, has become impracticable or abandoned in convention, and what contextual indicator supports a figurative reading.
One person derives a ruling from a dictionary meaning despite contrary established usage. Another invokes custom to reshape every legal indication. Both are incomplete: the first ignores convention and context, while the second gives custom a role beyond what the evidence allows.
Correct sequence: Examine primary meaning, actual usage, the setting of speech, and reliable contextual indicators separately before deciding whether literal or figurative usage is operative.