Most hated phrases & management speak

Ah, one of my pet peeves !

The one that currently makes my teeth itch is the use of 'space' to describe a situation or environment.

"and that's a good space to be in"

The thing that gets me about all such expressions is that I know that the people who now contaminate their vocabulary with such dross did not speak like that a few years ago. Which means, to me, that at some point they decided to adopt such expressions for reasons they have not disclosed, e.g. they want to sound like someone else, they haven't enough confidence in their own powers of expression.
 
"At this moment in time" drives me mad. Can't people just say "now". I also hate when TV presenters say "see you later"
 
I found myself saying 'going forward' a few weeks ago but I did kick myself afterwards - 'from now on' has suited me just fine all these years.

Last week we were told we were waiting for someone to 'come down from the mountain with the tablets'.

While we were waiting for the 'tablets' another fella told us where our 'head space' should be while we were waiting for yer man to come down from the aforementioned mountain.
 
A few years ago copperfasten was all the rage along with window of opportunity. Awful.
 
When my boss says 'thanks for making that suggestion. It's very interesting' I know he's really thinking 'what a load of sh*te.'
 
liaconn said:
When my boss says 'thanks for making that suggestion. It's very interesting' I know he's really thinking 'what a load of sh*te.'
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he's just being polite - don't make rubbish suggestions and he won't need to respond accordingly. :)
 
S.L.F said:
I had a boss who always said, "I'm not your father".

I always thought I bloody well hope not!
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I came across this thread by chance and really enjoyed it. This particular post made me laugh out loud. I hate management speak, I think most of my personal 'favourites' are here. I attended a meeting recently where someone kept saying they 'had their arms around' the issue. Cringe.
 
Haven't read any of this thread at all, so these may have already been mentioned - I hear them on a daily basis at work:

- going forward
- singin off the same hymn sheet
 
The Onion always makes me smile and this one is a classic

[broken link removed]

Oh, and I worked with a guy who once said to IT "Our issue is that we have an average system with excellent people when we really need an excellent system which would then require only average people." All he had to say was "the system is crap."

Another term I can't stand is "elevator figures". It means if you were in an elevator with the boss and he/she asked how you are doing, you would have your "Key Performance Indicators" ready to dazzle him/her with your brilliance e.g. you have 10 seconds to impress so you rattle off your sales for the month, your conversion of call-outs to sales etc. etc.

"Low hanging fruit" - Since when does an apple have anything to do with work?

If I think of any more I'll "revert" to you
 
"Let's take it offline"
Meaning: you’ve brought up a subject that makes me look like an idiot, or there is someone else in the room I don’t want knowing about that issue or we want to talk about you behind your back.


But we'll prioritise it, going forward...
 
"Brown bag meeting", "Telecon", "Timebox". Touch base is the one that really rubs me up the wrong way though
 
"Brown bag meeting" is an informal meeting usually held through lunch, hence the name.

"Timeboxing" means giving a task a very strict and finite length of time in which to be completed.

"Telecon" is a shorting for telephone conversation. As to why you wouldnt just say "Phone call" like the rest of the sane world is beyond me!
 
"Bio-break"
N. Neo-geek terminology for visiting the bathroom, especially when interrupting a meeting/gathering/workflow.
V. performing bodily functions

"Where's Jones? I need him in here now!"
"Oh, he's on bio break, but I'll send him right in."
 
FLANDERS` said:
"Brown bag meeting" is an informal meeting usually held through lunch, hence the name.

"Timeboxing" means giving a task a very strict and finite length of time in which to be completed.

"Telecon" is a shorting for telephone conversation. As to why you wouldnt just say "Phone call" like the rest of the sane world is beyond me!
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I don't know what circles you move it, Flanders, and I don't want to ever be there! Never heard of these terms before in my life. Are they Irish?
 
My policy is to not attend meetings. On the rare occasion when I can't avoid a meeting, and for my own entertainment, I make it my raison d'et to work in as many anglicised French phrases as possible.
 
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