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I am writing about the GME short squeeze that happened in January 2021.

At some point, I want to say that short squeezes are nothing new in finance, but the way it was triggered was not seen before.

What would be the correct way to say this?

The way it was triggered was unprecedented.

or

The way it was triggered is unprecedented.

The reason I am asking, is that it is of course still unprecedented, as something that was once unprecedented can not become 'un-unprecedented', right? Using 'was' seems like the right way to go as that really emphasizes that it was unprecedented back than, but I just wanted to be sure if it would be allowed to use it that way.

KillingTime
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whaddaplaya
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    Doesn't the first occurence of an event become the precedent for subsequent events of the same type? So this type of trigger ceased to be unprecedented in January 2021. – KillingTime Dec 01 '21 at 10:58
  • Okay, that makes sense. So it would be the was option then, as it is no longer unprecedented? – whaddaplaya Dec 01 '21 at 11:01
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    The historic present is often available ('Blériot's 1909 flight across the Channel is unprecedented.') And an event that was unprecedented remains the first ever. But although your second variant is grammatical and not illogical, using different tenses in such close proximity sounds awkward. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 01 '21 at 12:13
  • Also, you didn't ask for general writing advice and we don't cover it here... but if we did... I might suggest that "unprecedented" has been so heavily used in the last couple of years that it's become its own hot-topic cliché, and is often used with apology or comment, so it might be smart to reword. – Andy Bonner Dec 01 '21 at 14:05
  • Thanks @AndyBonner, I think you are right in that, so I am indeed considering rewording. – whaddaplaya Dec 01 '21 at 16:16
  • Thanks @EdwinAshworth, that answers my question exactly. Is there any way I can mark this question as answered even though I have not received an official answer outside the comments? (I'm new here) – whaddaplaya Dec 01 '21 at 16:17
  • I didn't give an 'answer' as it's largely a duplicate. I've found what I consider the best fit, though I'd use the present with 'He didn't know where New Jersey is'! Can't you close this question? – Edwin Ashworth Dec 01 '21 at 17:28

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