English, please.
Is there already a thread for miscellaneous language discussion? If so, make with the hooting, point me there, and let us never speak of this thread again. If not, there is now.
The "Sharks" on TV's Shark Tank only follow through on a fraction of the deals they make on the show.
I've noticed that 'fraction', like many words, has a literal definition and a colloquial definition. For example low voter turnout might be described with the phrase "only a fraction of the electorate showed up at the polls", but nobody would infer the fractions 9/10 or even 1/2 are implied in that statement. We all know that a 'fraction' in that sense means "a tiny fraction".
So what do you say when a fraction applies but it's not a tiny fraction?
In an article about Shark Tank, I read that the 'sharks' reserve the right to reject a deal after more extensive scrutiny of the contestant's business. So the statement I made early in this post is literally true--the 'Sharks' only follow through on a fraction of the deals they make on the show--yet as it happens the comment is misleading, since that fraction is typically >1/2.
In this case what succinct phrase would more accurately express the facts?
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