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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| The death of 100% | The death of 100% |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Four candidates = 440% effort | Four candidates = 440% effort |
| Before the days of linguistic inflation, 100% was considered enough. But no longer, says Chris Bowlby, in a personal reflection on how language has changed. | Before the days of linguistic inflation, 100% was considered enough. But no longer, says Chris Bowlby, in a personal reflection on how language has changed. |
| How committed are you to finishing this article? 110%? Maybe 150%? Or, if you're in the US, perhaps 1,000% is what you need to say to show you really care. | How committed are you to finishing this article? 110%? Maybe 150%? Or, if you're in the US, perhaps 1,000% is what you need to say to show you really care. |
| But hang on a minute. Isn't 100% meant to be the limit, as far as you can go? | But hang on a minute. Isn't 100% meant to be the limit, as far as you can go? |
| There once was a time when 100% really meant something. That was the top figure you could commit, or the maximum you were allowed for a mortgage, 100% of your house's value. | |
| FIND OUT MORE... More or Less is on BBC Radio 4Listen to the programme here | FIND OUT MORE... More or Less is on BBC Radio 4Listen to the programme here |
| But then came linguistic - as well as mortgage - inflation. It began in a very modest, British kind of way. Susie Dent, a writer and language expert, has been delving in the old dictionaries and thinks the breach may have come in the early 1980s when British ice-dancing stars were hoping for Olympic glory. | But then came linguistic - as well as mortgage - inflation. It began in a very modest, British kind of way. Susie Dent, a writer and language expert, has been delving in the old dictionaries and thinks the breach may have come in the early 1980s when British ice-dancing stars were hoping for Olympic glory. |
| "The first citation comes from a biography of Torville and Dean. It said they were going to put in nothing less than 101%, so possibly that's when things began to edge upwards". | "The first citation comes from a biography of Torville and Dean. It said they were going to put in nothing less than 101%, so possibly that's when things began to edge upwards". |
| Where ice skating biographers began modestly, footballers and their managers soon strode in more confidently. | Where ice skating biographers began modestly, footballers and their managers soon strode in more confidently. |
| Promising to give 110% became the norm in post-match interviews. It was a useful follow-up after, depending on the result, you'd explained why your were "over the moon" or "sick as a parrot". | Promising to give 110% became the norm in post-match interviews. It was a useful follow-up after, depending on the result, you'd explained why your were "over the moon" or "sick as a parrot". |
| But why 110% exactly? Perhaps it was all those players' and managers' agents - the Mr Ten Per Cents - who made sure there was 100% for their clients plus 10% for them. | But why 110% exactly? Perhaps it was all those players' and managers' agents - the Mr Ten Per Cents - who made sure there was 100% for their clients plus 10% for them. |
| Return to 100 | Return to 100 |
| It wasn't just football that was infected. Susie Dent says it has all been part of a "bigging up" of language. Think of the way we say superhero instead of just hero, and feel the need to add "über" or "mega" to make words sound more impressive. | It wasn't just football that was infected. Susie Dent says it has all been part of a "bigging up" of language. Think of the way we say superhero instead of just hero, and feel the need to add "über" or "mega" to make words sound more impressive. |
| Percentages inflated under the same kind of pressure. And poor old 100% was left looking, she says, "a bit paltry". | Percentages inflated under the same kind of pressure. And poor old 100% was left looking, she says, "a bit paltry". |
| A return to 100% as a kind of limit might well be popular | A return to 100% as a kind of limit might well be popular |
| Listen to the thrusting young entrepreneurs on a TV show like The Apprentice. You can hear the inflation happening as they try to outdo each other promising many percentage points more effort than any of their rivals. In the US, it's claimed the going rate for some job applications is to promise no less than 1,000% commitment. | Listen to the thrusting young entrepreneurs on a TV show like The Apprentice. You can hear the inflation happening as they try to outdo each other promising many percentage points more effort than any of their rivals. In the US, it's claimed the going rate for some job applications is to promise no less than 1,000% commitment. |
| But could all this be changing? Employers are becoming less and less impressed by job candidates whose inflated promises seem out of all proportion to their actual qualifications and performance. | But could all this be changing? Employers are becoming less and less impressed by job candidates whose inflated promises seem out of all proportion to their actual qualifications and performance. |
| And as we enter gloomier times economically, inflated percentages can seem scary rather than inspiring. For those who took out 125% mortgages and now see house prices plummeting, the loss of the old 100% limit is much more than a linguistic joke. | And as we enter gloomier times economically, inflated percentages can seem scary rather than inspiring. For those who took out 125% mortgages and now see house prices plummeting, the loss of the old 100% limit is much more than a linguistic joke. |
| So a return to 100% as a kind of limit might well be popular with those bewildered by the way we've been playing fast and loose with our percentages. | So a return to 100% as a kind of limit might well be popular with those bewildered by the way we've been playing fast and loose with our percentages. |
| Adjustment for footballers and thrusting entrepreneurs will be harder. But if they were told that a bit of linguistic deflation was 110% desirable, agreement might yet be possible. | Adjustment for footballers and thrusting entrepreneurs will be harder. But if they were told that a bit of linguistic deflation was 110% desirable, agreement might yet be possible. |
| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions | The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions |