Reading yet another grammar thread made me think of the corporate lingo I hear at work that drives me nuts. "Reach out" is an old one but still annoying. But the most current, worst one for me is "Ask"being used as a noun. "What is the ask?" "Oh, the ask is that we complete the risk assessment tomorrow."

We have a word for that, it is "request". Request is a noun, ask is a verb.

Other lingo that is appropriate but still annoying...

Operations excellence
Risk based approach

These idiots in corporate business think it is brilliant to invent new buzzwords. I remember them in college, walking around with a folded copy of the WSJ under their arm and barely able to compete with liberal arts students. Of course their presence was welcome when the Prof graded on the curve.

'At the end of the day' I agree with you.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
But the most current, worst one for me is "Ask"being used as a noun. "What is the ask?" "Oh, the ask is that we complete the risk assessment tomorrow."

We have a word for that, it is "request". Request is a noun, ask is a verb.

Other lingo that is appropriate but still annoying.

Oh hell yes! I heard this crap the other week when we started having daily conference calls. Almost every day someone pipes up after an operational question or issue is discussed with their “what’s the ask?” bullshit. I have to double check that my phone is on mute before I rant about such stupidity. They think they’re sounding knowledgeable and slick but honestly they sound like complete idiots.

Have some fun with it!

Print up some "buzzword bingo" cards and hand them out at your meetings.

See who shouts "bingo" out loud.

I remember a discussion way in prehistoric times when I worked for the gummint and we were meeting with a contractor. We had been tossing around the word "indices" of whatever, and a very bright young lady managed to invent the word "indice" as the singular form.
I didn't correct her either.

Excellent topic! A lot of meat on that bone. Or is it low hanging fruit? Should I table it? Or stick a pin in it?

Before we can come up with a proper mitigation we are going to have to circle back and ensure HR, Safety, and AP are looped in.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Have some fun with it!

Print up some "buzzword bingo" cards and hand them out at your meetings.

See who shouts "bingo" out loud.

We did this at a board meeting where the EVP of marketing of Burger King was speaking. The CFO won.

quote:

Originally posted by Garret Blaine:
we are going to have to circle back and ensure HR, Safety, and AP are looped in.

Sounds like somebody's about to get hung!

(Hanged? )

So what’s the net net?

Heard at about the mid-point of a lengthy meeting I was attending, as announced by the host: “Okay, let’s take five minutes for a bio-break.”

Bio-break? You mean, hit the john if we need to?

Ah, wait - “hitting the john” doesn’t present the right optics, does it? Never mind.

I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun
See how they fly
I'm crying
Sitting on a corn flake
Waiting for the van to come
Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man you've been a naughty boy
You let your face grow long
I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g'joob
Mr. City policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row
See how they fly like Lucy in the sky
See how they run
I'm crying
I'm crying, I'm crying, I'm crying
Yellow matter custard
Dripping from a dead dog's eye
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess
Boy, you've been a naughty girl
You let your knickers down
I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g'joob
Sitting in an English garden
Waiting for the sun
If the sun don't come you get a tan
From standing in the English rain
I am the egg man (How do you do sir?)
They are the egg men (The man maintains a fortune)
I am the walrus
Goo goo g'joob, goo goo goo g'joob
Expert, texpert choking smokers
Don't you think the joker laughs at you (Ho ho ho, hee hee hee, hah hah hah)
See how they smile like pigs in a sty
See how they snide
I'm crying
Semolina Pilchard
Climbing up the Eiffel tower
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe
I am the egg man
They are the egg men
I am the walrus
Goo goo g'joob, goo goo goo g'joob
Goo goo g'joob, goo goo goo g'joob, goo goo

"touch base" as a noun.

"meet with your associates and have a brief touch base with them about..."

I've never liked the term to begin with, but the sudden over-use of the term as a noun drives me crazy.

"Onboarding."

I still refer to it as training.

I started streaming TV with ROKU last summer.

You no longer switch channels, you "Launch" the new channel.

"I'll get with you offline"

I use the term reach out numerous times a night.
Such as I need to reach out and speak with this Dept, Doctor, ME office, I am reaching out to see if I get hired as a Walmart Greeter.

I also use touch base quite often.

I have used these two phrases for years.

I have heard get with you offline.
Ahhh the famous new onboarding phrase the government likes to use for every scenario.

Funny, for years we called it Orientation/in processing but now they use the fancy onboarding term.

quote:

Originally posted by PorterN:
"touch base" as a noun.

That infuriates me. Way too much experience with that word over the last year and a half.

Also: charette.

To the OP, although "ask" as a noun seems like a recent buzzword, it has actually been used in that sense in English for hundreds of years, just uncommonly.