Persuasion reimagined
The pandemic is redefining some words out of all recognition – or rather, politicians are abusing commonly understood terms to suit their ever-changing policies.
To be fair, policies have to change to meet the constant fluctuations of infection. But it all takes some following, as elimination, social distancing, policing and even traffic-light colours now have, as they like to say in the bureaucracy, “ever more granular” nuances.
The most commonly molested word is “not”. The Government was “not” going to have widespread saliva testing, even while it was funding plans to have it, and it was “not” going to lift the ban on rapid
