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: 
It's supposed to represent a notational delineation. When they say 'object literal', they mean 'object literal notation'. There are various ways to make an object. This is the most straightforward approach.
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>.