Unprecedented. The word meaning ‘never done before, or novel’ has, ironically, never been used more. The use of unprecedented is unprecedented - including by people who are not Joe Biden. Therefore, there is unprecedented use of unprecedented by unpresidents. Glad we’ve established that.
What irks me about the word unprecedented is its misuse. It’s 2022, we’ve seen a lot of history and a lot of shit has happened. The threshold for what is unprecedented constantly increases, almost by law. Aliens landing on earth, flying cars or getting a USB to plug in the first time would be unprecedented. An uptick in inflation that can very well be compared to the 1920s is not.
The word was batted about during the covid times as if it was the first virus in history. Like the Black Plague wasn’t worse, or Ebola, or Spanish Flu or any of the other mass viruses in history didn’t exist. Of course, point this out and you draw the ire of the ‘well, actually’ crowd who will point out that we have never seen this ‘exactly’ before. Trying to explain how covid is unique in comparison to other (very similar) viruses, is as useful as the modern stats in sports. ‘Tom Brady becomes first person to throw a touchdown while wearing incorrect days of the week socks’ or ‘Ronaldo becomes first player to score a goal while wearing green laces on a Thursday in March’. In other words: useless.
For the most part ‘unprecedented’ has been used by politicians and public figures as a makeshift get out of jail card. Something nice to fall back on. The old ‘hey look, nobody could’ve seen this coming’ adage. Always used to file any kind of mistake under ignorance, but also claim plaudits for any (and all) success; reframed as showing leadership in times of uncertainty.
Yes, things happen that haven’t happened before, but also things that haven’t happened before happen all the time. So really you should be looking for things that haven’t ever happened to happen because the only thing that hasn’t happened before, is everything happening that has only ever happened before - got it?
This weird obsessive focus with things being ‘unprecedented’ is the new chapter in the victim wars - trying to pretend our suffering is uniquely difficult and we have it worse than anyone else ever has. Spending two years on furlough chain watching Netflix dramas and devouring copious amounts of Deliveroo orders doesn’t equate to ‘hard times’.
To be unprecedented means to be unlike anything that has come before it. A scathing article about a single word, mostly used innocuously, that would only annoy a weird and uniquely grumpy column writer? Sounds pretty unprecedented to me.
Great stuff. I guess we have forgotten what is novelty, the media especially, and trying to make a sensation of any shit.
(not very unprecedented comment)