http://www.grammarblog.co.uk/2008/01/more-or-less/ A blog about spelling, punctuation and grammar Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:12:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 http://www.grammarblog.co.uk/2008/01/more-or-less/comment-page-1/#comment-475 Gez Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:41:00 +0000 http://65.38.103.143/~grammarb/blog/?p=140#comment-475 It may be more sinister than a simple mistake. Maybe some marketer (formally known as a marketeer) has decided that "less" is too negative a word for a promotion. "More than 50% off" requires a bit of maths (no good is you are chasing the thicko pound). "More than half price" delivers the message at the intended level. Correct English just doesn't cut it when delivering a "message". <br/><br/>I hate marketers. It may be more sinister than a simple mistake. Maybe some marketer (formally known as a marketeer) has decided that “less” is too negative a word for a promotion. “More than 50% off” requires a bit of maths (no good is you are chasing the thicko pound). “More than half price” delivers the message at the intended level. Correct English just doesn’t cut it when delivering a “message”. I hate marketers.

]]> http://www.grammarblog.co.uk/2008/01/more-or-less/comment-page-1/#comment-474 Paddy Sun, 06 Jan 2008 21:43:00 +0000 http://65.38.103.143/~grammarb/blog/?p=140#comment-474 I notice football's Alan Hansen's shameful advertising campaign for Morrisons has thrown up something of a smiliar theme, in that they're offering some goods, such as Findus Lasagnes, at <a HREF="http://www.morrisons.co.uk/Offers/Frozen/" REL="nofollow">"better than half price"</a>.<br/><br/>We all know what they're getting at but it's still wrong, given that one definition of better in the Oxford dictionary is <i>'to a greater degree; more'</i>. Thus they're saying it's more than half price, just like that there USB drive. I notice football’s Alan Hansen’s shameful advertising campaign for Morrisons has thrown up something of a smiliar theme, in that they’re offering some goods, such as Findus Lasagnes, at “better than half price”.We all know what they’re getting at but it’s still wrong, given that one definition of better in the Oxford dictionary is ‘to a greater degree; more’. Thus they’re saying it’s more than half price, just like that there USB drive.

]]>