# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/81 "2002-08-17T17:40:39Z")
Anybody for [Bullshit Bingo](http://www.perkigoth.com/home/kermit/stuff/bullshitbingo/)? > [@](#): > > My personal favorite: “at this point in time”. How about "at this _particular_ point in time. That’s really pinning it down, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Jerrybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jerrybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerrybear)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/82 "2002-08-17T18:26:56Z")
A bunch of us Green Party people did something similar to buzzword bingo at a typical non-debate between Republicrat and Demublican candidates. We kept track of how many times the candidates mentioned certain common mainstream political cliches such as “family values,” “think about the children.” and so on. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/83 "2002-08-17T18:28:36Z")
Something that really chaps my behind these days is the whole trend of **lead** and **point** , both of which are used to mean “in charge of”. I’m fine (in a defeated way) with saying: Maria is going to **take the lead** or Maria is going to **be the point person** on this project. … but I’m recently hearing this shortened even more, to “Maria is going to **be lead** or **be point** on this project.” To me, this would make sense if we were saying “For the love of God, we’re going to rescue those astronauts on the disabled space shuttle before their oxygen runs out in 38 minutes – Maria, YOU’RE POINT ON THIS PROJECT!!!” because to me, at least, it conveys a sort of anxious urgency designed to get your blood pumping. But for gosh sakes, what we’re talking about here is “I think we’re very nearly out of post-it notes! Maria, YOU’RE POINT ON THIS PROJECT!!!” The day my blood pumps over POST-IT NOTES will be a sad day indeed. Abbreviations … good grief. We’re at the point where we have SO MANY, they’re repeating themselves (this is in education, btw). We have two TEP centers, one is the “Technolgy in Education Project” and the other is “Teaching Excellence Program.” So now we have to say “TEP-Tech” or “TEP-Teach.” And after THREE YEARS OF THIS NONSENSE, the people at the TEP-Teach office still open mis-directed mail to discover long reports about computer programs for the classroom, addressed simply to “TEP” and they have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA of whom the correct recipient might be. I have gotten calls, asking if the report is for my office, and I swear they’re just going through the phone directory in alphabetical order. It has yet to occur to anyone, despite this happening about once a week, that the odds are fairly darn high that the first phone call they should make is to TEP-Tech. And vice versa. This, my friends, clearly indicates that the end of days is nigh. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/84 "2002-08-17T18:46:25Z")
Medicine is much more resistant to such bullshit-speak as this, but this one chaps me: “expired”. As in, “The patient expired.” (Passed up his sell-by date, I guess.) See also “succumbed”, which sounds like something someone would do in a bad romance novel. “Perished” is right out. The patient died, OK? The patient fucking _died_. We would also have accepted “went out through the wrong door”, “bought the farm”, or “got sent Home with a capital ‘H’.” Dr. J ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/85 "2002-08-17T19:01:22Z")
**Eduspeak** stakeholders formative evaluation summative evaluation IEP (individual education plan) affective domain cognitive domain whole language approach site based decision making **BWA HAHA AHAHA HAHAH AHAH** ahem Authentic assessment criterion-referenced assessment faciliatator …facilitated learning manipulative skills multiple intelligences pedagogy portfolio rubric descriptors high stakes assessment EMH TMH Or play the eduspeak [game](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~alfar/doc/eduspeak.htm)…fun for ALL ages!! ---
**Author:** ![Norrybaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9a28c/32.png) [@Norrybaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norrybaby)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/86 "2002-08-17T20:26:32Z")
Some nurses have a habit of describing their patients (or clients :mad: ) as _ambulating_ freely around the ward. They walk like everyone else surely. Abbreviations are a bit rife 'round here really, though they usually make me laugh. Just last week, there’s two ambulance officers and two firemen talking over a cup of coffee in my tearoom, and one of the paramedics said “I thought you blokes could have used another BRT on that last job”. I’m racking my brains for an appropriately technical term, but when none comes to mind I ask. **B** ig **R** ed **T** ruck apparently _laughs_ **DoctorJ** , I remember once in handover, one of the staff described the patient in room three as BND. A quizzical look from me was enough for her to explain **B** loody **N** ear **D** ead. A useful abbreviation 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/87 "2002-08-17T23:42:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\ ***Eduspeak** > > stakeholders > formative evaluation > summative evaluation > IEP (individual education plan) > affective domain > cognitive domain > whole language approach > site based decision making **BWA HAHA AHAHA HAHAH AHAH** ahem > Authentic assessment > criterion-referenced assessment > faciliatator …facilitated learning > manipulative skills > multiple intelligences > pedagogy > portfolio > rubric > descriptors > high stakes assessment > EMH > TMH > > Or play the eduspeak [game](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~alfar/doc/eduspeak.htm)…fun for ALL ages!! \*\* * * * I am passing that link on to all my colleagues–oops, I mean co-facilitators of higher learning. (Bleccch!) Oh, and I must add “talking points” as a noxious phrase; it tends to come up during meetings and negotiations. If it comes up one more time, I’m gonna smash it. ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/88 "2002-08-18T01:42:51Z")
Working in the television industry, I hear a million of 'em every day. First, you have the programming department that simply speaks in acronyms, to wit: “Friends LTC’s on the 14th and then we’ve got M_A_S\*H on OTO then we go over to The Simpsons FTC, then it runs TFN” (Translation - “Friends has its **L** ast **T** ele **c** ast on the 14th, an then we’ve got M_A_S\*H on **O** ne **T** ime **O** nly, then we go over to The Simpsons **F** irst **T** ele **c** ast, then it runs **T** ill **F** urther **N** otice”) Then over to the newsroom - you may hear something like this: “We’ve got the mayor’s presser at 10:00, then we have to do three hits from the state house at noon. Jason’s got to get the noon OTS’s ready to go and the EP called in sick today. On top of that , Net wants a talking head VYVX’d at 12:15.” So, we know that the mayor is having a press conference at 10:00 that we have to cover. We have to do three “live shots” (hits) from the state house and that the graphics artist, Jason, has to get the **O** ver **T** he **S** houlder graphics ready for the noon show and that since the **E** xecutive **P** roducer has called in sick, it’s going to be a tough day. Then, we find out that our affiliated network has requested a single person interview setup to be sent over the network fiber optic link at 12:15. You get to sales and you start hearing about the “Demos” (demographics of our audience) and people are tossing around wierd sounding numbers like this - “Did you see Seinfeld last night, it did a 7.7 with a 15!!” This, of course, refers to the Neilsen overnight ratings sample of households and tells you that the show in question got a 7.7 rating (7.7% of all households in the market were tuned in) and a 15 share (15% of those households that actually had their TV’s turned on were watching that show.) Engineering (my end of things) is just as bad - because we combine all the other jargon of TV with the standard electronics and computer jargon that every other industry uses. We get accused of not speaking english on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![Servo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Servo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Servo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/89 "2002-08-18T14:52:16Z")
Microsoft loves this shit. If you ever go to one of their sites for a product seminar or “training” you’ll get to hear something like: “We’ll take a bio-break now because we have a hard-stop at 2:30.” **bio-break** n. Stupid 1. A pause in a meeting so the participant can resolve any biological needs that may have arisen from listening to a fool drone on about SharePoint Portal Server.[sup]TM[/sup] **hard-stop** n. Redundant 1. The time when a meeting must end. Usually due to one of the participant having a prior commitment. 2. When the meeting ends due to one of the participants slamming the face of the presenter into the nearest wall to avoid future exposure to coma-inducing industry buzz words. I’d also like to add my vote to “at the end of the day.” There’s one guy at my office who has apparently just discovered this phrase and uses it _constantly_. Especially annoying because whenever I hear it I get the song from Les Miserables stuck in my head. _At the end of the day you’re another day older And that’s all you can say for the life of the poor It’s a struggle it’s a war And there’s nothing that anyone’s giving One more day standing about What is it for?_ ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/90 "2002-08-19T03:52:37Z")
What? No-one’s mentioned KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)yet? There may still be hope for us all. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Doris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Sir\_Doris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Doris)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888/91 "2002-08-19T11:47:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by beagledave \* > \*\* > Or play the eduspeak [game](http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~alfar/doc/eduspeak.htm)…fun for ALL ages!! \*\* Thanks for that. Now I know where how our teaching and lear… sorry _learning and teaching_ executive and assistant find sufficient meaningless crap to generate quite so many emails and newsletters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loathsome-buzzwords-in-your-industry/122888.md?page=4)