Okay, seriously people. One hundred percent means the whole thing. Everything. All of it. Nothing left.
If you are asking for someone to give 110 percent, you are asking something mathematically impossible.
(Well, maybe you could use it as a description of what happens when people juice up on drugs. “Use steroids! They’ll give you 110 percent of your normal human ability!” But that means if you are asking for 110 percent, you are asking your employees / students / fitness trainees to use drugs.)
A friend of mine told me that because I snark about this every time I hear it, I have successfully ruined an entire set of fitness videos for her. To which I say: You’re welcome. Sometimes we must sacrifice blithe entertainment for proper mathematics. It’s the right thing to do.
While it is understandable that a saying that so technically incorrect –
7548754875487548754875487548754875487548754875487548754875487548754875487548754875487548po;l/ (Oops, sorry, the cat just leaped onto my keyboard! She does not give a rat’s a** about the pet peeves of mathematicians. Or maybe she agrees, and this is her opinion of the saying.)
–would grate on the nerves of a mathematician, within the context of language and communication, doesn’t it fulfill the purpose of emphasizing that a person must give more effort than they feel is maximally possible? (After all, a neurologist might justifiable take issue with the term “grating on nerves.” Try to grin and bear it so your friend can get into shape and my cat will stop cursing. ^-^)
Well, the problem is, it’s an unobtainable goal! I don’t find that motivating; I just find it frustrating! ;)
In all seriousness — I love hyperbole when used to great effect, but I feel like for most of the people who hear someone say, “Give 110%!” it doesn’t register as hyperbole. As in, they genuinely think they can (and think they do) push themselves to give more than 100%, which is not possible. And it grates on this mathematician’s nerves that people think it is! ;) I dunno, maybe I’m wrong, but that’s the impression I’ve always gotten.