Question: I know that most everything is an object in JavaScript. When people say "object literal," do they mean an object like this?

```
var thing = {
   'foo': 'bar'
   , 'baz': 'foo'
   , 'bar': 'baz'
};

```

Answer: 
An object literal is a way to declare an object.

You would write

```
var myObject = {}; // with or without members

```

instead of 

```
var myOject = new Object();

```

You can also use array literals:

```
var myArray = [];

```

instead of

```
var myArray = new Array(); // with or without members

```

It's shorter, of course but it also bypasses the constructor so it's supposed to be more efficient.
Yes, more or less. The "literal" is the source-code representation of the object; so, just the part from `{` to `}`, not the rest of the declaration.

A good reference: <https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript/Guide/Values,_Variables,_and_Literals#Object_Literals>.