THE UNPRECEDENTED RISE OF UNPRECEDENTED

The COVID pandemic has seen all sorts of jargon enter common parlance, from Orwellian-sounding terms such as “the new normal” to authoritarian demands to “socially distance”. But one word in particular has become so ubiquitous that it has lost all meaning. The unprecedented use of the word “unprecedented” now has the ring of manipulation about it. By calling even the most mildly diverting news stories “unprecedented”, networks hope to keep us anxiously glued to the TV. Perhaps they forgot about the boy who cried wolf. Now whenever I hear a newscaster solemnly announce that a story is “unprecedented” I assume the opposite and switch channels.

JAMES INNES-SMITH James is our new language guru who’ll call out annoying examples of usage. His book The

Seven Ages of Man is reviewed on page 82.