Business Jargon 201
Several weeks ago, I launched a multi-part educational series titled Business Jargon. Well, here it is: the next installment that you’ve all been waiting for:
Out-of-Pocket (adj.)
I just learned this gem this week. This is another way of saying you are “out of office” or otherwise “unavailable.” I’m not sure why this expression exists, but it's probably because it sounds cool and implies that eventually, you will be back “in pocket” which conjours up a silly image of pocket-sized businesspeople. But maybe that’s just me.
Parking Lot (n.)
Let’s expand upon our previous lesson in Business Lingo 101 where we discussed how to “table” something you don’t want to talk about right now. Taking it one step further, you can now put that thing you really don’t want to talk in the “parking lot,” where it will never be seen or heard from again.
“The Ask” and “The Solve” (both n.)
It would appear the business world has made swift work out of turning verbs into nouns. I can “ask” you to “solve” a problem, but I can also give you “an ask” or ask for “a solve” to a problem, and it means basically the same thing, but it’s more complicated and therefore more trendy.
“Let’s Talk That”
Sometimes you’re short on time and need to eliminate words from your commonly-used phrases, even if it violates widely accepted grammar rules. At some point, “let’s talk about that” felt far too cumbersome and was shortened to “let’s talk that.” I completely support this, because come on, who has time for that?