# Loathsome buzzwords in your industry **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 8, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888 "2002-08-08T01:11:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kn\_ckers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/96bed5/32.png) [@Kn\_ckers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kn_ckers)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/41 "2002-08-09T17:34:10Z")
I love working in the medical field - oh, no, wait, I hate it! - because everything’s abbreviated, and half the time, the abbreviations are inconsistant. For Example: Auditory Brainstem Response (a hearing test) is invariably referred to by abbreviation, but I have encountered no less than 4 of these: AER, BAER, BASR, and ABR. This can be very confusing. Not nearly as irritating as the confusion between nouns and verbs that happen in the business world - “Let’s conference on this,” for example. ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/42 "2002-08-09T20:48:56Z")
Are you bowderlizing knickers, or knockers? Anyway, I always heard it as ERA Evoked Response Audiometry. That was a few years ago, though. Tris ---
**Author:** ![Syzygy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Syzygy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syzygy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/43 "2002-08-09T22:13:57Z")
“Take it to the next level” or “a whole new level.” “Mission statement” irks me too for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Wildcatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@Wildcatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildcatz)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/44 "2002-08-09T22:18:41Z")
Referring to patients as clients or customers. This started about 6 years ago and I haven’t learned to like (much less **use** it) yet. 'catz ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2002, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/45 "2002-08-09T23:31:33Z")
More of a marketing term than one we actually use on the job, but… “edutainment” ugh. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@MC\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_E)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/46 "2002-08-10T01:43:46Z")
two words… VISION and PROCESS MC$E ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/47 "2002-08-10T08:06:54Z")
Words or phrases created or misused solely for taking the place of perfectly good words that mean the same thing bug the hell out of me. Educationese: **certificated** : I was once informed that “certified” had negative connotations that certificated did not. **authored** : Papers produced by college professors are too important to have merely been “written”. **stakeholder** : Often further mangled to “stakeholder group”. One other that just bothers me in general: **human resources** : The interesting thing about this one is that it reveals the actual attitude of management towards their employees. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/48 "2002-08-10T09:55:59Z")
My personal favorite: “at this point in time”. Half the time, you can just say “now” instead, and the other half of the time you can just drop the phrase entirely. Compare: “That feature isn’t working” vs “That feature isn’t working at this point in time.” I also haven’t seen “drill down” mentioned, as in “let’s drill down on that issue\*,” meaning to go into more detail. In the computer industry, there was a brief time when truly hip dumbshits said, “let’s double-click on that issue” right before being beaten to death with conference room chairs (sorry, was I fantasizing again?). \*always use “issue” instead of “topic” or “problem”. It’s more proactive and forward-thinking. I’m taking it offline. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/49 "2002-08-10T10:17:10Z")
**Number Six** how do you like this one… headcount. You don’t hire and fire, you add or reduce headcount. One lady came in with her new (3wk old) baby, and jokingly announced “Look, a new headcount!” ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/50 "2002-08-10T12:30:31Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Kn_ckers \* > \*\*Not nearly as irritating as the confusion between nouns and verbs that happen in the business world - “Let’s conference on this,” for example. \*\* Calvin: “Verbing weirds language” ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/51 "2002-08-10T20:24:47Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Kn_ckers \* > **I love working in the medical field - oh, no, wait, I hate it! - because everything’s abbreviated, and half the time, the abbreviations are inconsistant. For Example: > Auditory Brainstem Response (a hearing test) is invariably referred to by abbreviation, but I have encountered no less than 4 of these: AER, BAER, BASR, and ABR. This can be very confusing.** I’m an audiologist, so I know what you’re talking about here. Maybe I can help clear up the confusion. **ABR** =auditory brainstem response **AER** =auditory evoked response (this is considered a more general term than ABR…ABRs refer to a specific _type_ of AER…other types of AER are ECochG, AMLR, ALR, and P300) **BAER** =brainstem auditory evoked response; synonymous with AER **BASR** =I don’t know; haven’t encountered this one yet, and none of my ABR books have this abbreviation in them…maybe it means brainstem auditory stimulated response; this must be a term that is seriously out-of-date…however, I have seen **BSER** , which refers to brainstem evoked response, and that particular term is considered synonymous with ABR The best explanation I have for this plethora of abbreviations is that there was no agreement on what to call this phenomenon in the early days of investigating it. Lately, though, the trend seems to be favoring ABR. My impression has been that only the older audiologists nowadays call it BAER, BSER or AER…the vast majority of audiologists I know call it ABR, and I prefer ABR myself. Umm…confusion cleared? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/52 "2002-08-10T20:26:41Z")
Small correction: **BAER** =brainstem auditory evoked response; considered synonymous with ABR, not AER ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/53 "2002-08-11T01:45:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LindyHopper \* > \*\ ***Going forward** : And what _other_ direction would we be going, pray tell? Sideways? Diagonally? Up? Backwards, for Og’s sake? In a corkscrew pattern? Gaah! > \*\* Twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom? ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/54 "2002-08-11T02:01:50Z")
We’ve been known to “flip the switch” “go live” “massage the #s/data” These phrases get so overused and cheesy so fast… ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/55 "2002-08-11T07:58:28Z")
“Now _that’s_ what I’m talking about!”, when referring to something that the person hadn’t been talking about. And yes, I’ve encountered “headcount”. And “purposes” tacked on to the end of a phrase that doesn’t need it. For example, on the first day of school, teachers are supposed to write the headcount on the board for class size balancing purposes. ---
**Author:** ![KP235](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@KP235](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP235)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/56 "2002-08-11T08:04:07Z")
This thread must be where ‘the rubber hits the road’, eh? (sorry, an oldie but a goodie) ---
**Author:** ![Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linus_Van_Pelt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/57 "2002-08-12T03:45:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mblackwell \* > \*\*I hope most fo you are joking. When I get a “real job”, if my bosses talk like this it will be very hard not to make fun of them and laugh in thier faces. \*\* Unfortunately, **mblackwell** , I doubt that anyone is joking in this thread. In my opinion, buzzword insanity exists because of corporate management culture. There are 2 basic emotions that dominate the management world in large corporations - greed and fear (if you wish to be kind, you can substitute “ambition” for greed). In an extremely competative corporate environment, the ambitious strive for _anything_ that they can do to stand out. They latch on to buzzwords and pepper their speach with them so that the people they are interfacing with know that they are results oriented and working smarter and not harder. With vision (musn’t forget the vision). The managers that operate out of a sense of fear just _know_ that if they don’t utilize available resources to facilitate synergy in the face of shifting paradigms, someone who is thinking outside the box will leverage core competancies as they access their robust knowledge base to streamline processes and evolve diverse, dynamic markets opportunities. And when that happens, they know that they are sure to be out-tasked or right-sized. Hey, has anyone seen my hip-boots? ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/58 "2002-08-12T06:03:05Z")
What’s really scary is that I am not IN the corporate world, and I understood every word of **Linus Van Pelt’s** post. Which means a good portion of this crapola has shifted into every day conversation. Bleeah. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/59 "2002-08-12T13:27:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scout1222 \* > \*\*“Let’s discuss this off line” > > It’s a fairly “robust” model > > \*\* Nothing wrong with _robust_ as traditionally used by programmers. It describes a well-planned design or application that can handle the contingencies it’s designed for. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/60 "2002-08-12T14:23:47Z")
…is that they can bring in new jargonese. I’m working on a project now with consultants who have given us the wonderful phrase _parking lot issue_, meaning something deferred to the end of a meeting after the scheduled business has been completed. Why do I detest this term so much? I"m not sure, unless it’s that if I actually have to drive off site for a meeting, by the time I’m once again outside in the real parking lot, I need to get home, or back to my office so I can accomplish actual work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888.md?page=4)