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GeneralRe: Not a COVID-19 death Pin
OriginalGriff20-Mar-20 23:22
mveOriginalGriff20-Mar-20 23:22 
GeneralRe: Not a COVID-19 death Pin
Jörgen Andersson21-Mar-20 0:53
professionalJörgen Andersson21-Mar-20 0:53 
GeneralRe: Not a COVID-19 death Pin
OriginalGriff21-Mar-20 1:04
mveOriginalGriff21-Mar-20 1:04 
GeneralRe: Not a COVID-19 death Pin
Jörgen Andersson21-Mar-20 1:06
professionalJörgen Andersson21-Mar-20 1:06 
GeneralRe: Not a COVID-19 death Pin
DRHuff21-Mar-20 5:00
DRHuff21-Mar-20 5:00 
GeneralRe: Not a COVID-19 death Pin
Mark_Wallace21-Mar-20 7:11
Mark_Wallace21-Mar-20 7:11 
GeneralRe: Not a COVID-19 death Pin
dandy7221-Mar-20 4:21
dandy7221-Mar-20 4:21 
GeneralOne in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 19:38
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 19:38 
Source[^], but the NYT has the same thing.

I really don't like the "one in __", in this kind of context; it's just not precise enough language, for me.

A back-of-the-mind inference is that each family or grouping of five people has to choose one to stay at home.  Even though the reader knows that is not the case, it still fuzzes the meaning, subconsciously (and if you don't know how to write for the subconscious, you shouldn't be writing headlines).

Percentage and fractions have no such implications: "20% of" and "a fifth of" don't conjure any illusions*.




* OK, so who immediately thought "unless you chop people into fifths!"?  That's what I mean by writing for the subconscious.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!

GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
RickZeeland20-Mar-20 20:24
mveRickZeeland20-Mar-20 20:24 
GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 20:34
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 20:34 
GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
theoldfool21-Mar-20 3:20
professionaltheoldfool21-Mar-20 3:20 
GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
RickZeeland21-Mar-20 4:42
mveRickZeeland21-Mar-20 4:42 
GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
Richard MacCutchan20-Mar-20 22:22
mveRichard MacCutchan20-Mar-20 22:22 
GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 22:55
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 22:55 
GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
kmoorevs21-Mar-20 5:47
kmoorevs21-Mar-20 5:47 
GeneralRe: One in five Americans ordered to stay at home Pin
Mark_Wallace21-Mar-20 6:21
Mark_Wallace21-Mar-20 6:21 
GeneralPre-emptive thought Pin
PIEBALDconsult20-Mar-20 18:46
mvePIEBALDconsult20-Mar-20 18:46 
GeneralRe: Pre-emptive thought Pin
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 18:51
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 18:51 
GeneralRe: Pre-emptive thought Pin
RickZeeland20-Mar-20 20:28
mveRickZeeland20-Mar-20 20:28 
GeneralName and Shame Pin
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 18:16
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 18:16 
GeneralRe: Name and Shame Pin
lopatir20-Mar-20 18:41
lopatir20-Mar-20 18:41 
GeneralRe: Name and Shame Pin
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 18:50
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 18:50 
GeneralRe: Name and Shame Pin
lopatir20-Mar-20 19:05
lopatir20-Mar-20 19:05 
GeneralRe: Name and Shame Pin
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 19:20
Mark_Wallace20-Mar-20 19:20 
GeneralRe: Name and Shame Pin
lopatir20-Mar-20 19:43
lopatir20-Mar-20 19:43 

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