Have you heard of the term "cliché" before? Wikipedia defines it as "a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel."
BBC Magazine had a list of 50 office-speak phrases (clichés) that you love to hate. Check out the list by clicking here. In each of the examples, you will see the cliché shown in bold text. Which ones, if any, do you use? Which ones, if any, were new to you? Try to identify 2 items for each of those questions.
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(Please note that British words may have slightly different spellings than their American counterparts. For example, on that BBC magazine page for item #32, you will see the word "realised" used. In America, we would write that as "realized.")
11 comments:
Of the 50 cliches I sometimes use the following:
(13-14) Pre-pare and forward planning.
Meaning to get things done long before due date.
(10) Challenge:
"You can add challenge to the list. Problems are no longer considered problems, they have morphed into challenges."
Two that are not familiar to me are:
(3) Platform Atheists.
Software users these days, so we hear, want to be platform atheists so that their computers will run programs from any manufacturer.
(47) Negative Territory:
When a stock market is down why must we be told it is in negative
territory?
Deidra W.
(24)" Get all my ducks in a row,"
is the only phrase that I'm familiar with. The rest of them I've never heard and considering they pretty much all sound a little crazy, I would need clarity on them.
CWillis
Sandra H
I've never heard the majority of the cliches but I picked two.
1. strategic staircase
2. looking under the bonnet
Two that I've used are:
1. from the get go
2. got all my ducks in a row
The ones that I use are:
"The one phrase that inspires a rage in me is from the get-go."
Andy, Herts
"The expression that drives me nuts is 110%, usually said to express passion/commitment/support by people who are not very good at maths. This has created something of a cliche-inflation, where people are now saying 120%, 200%, or if you are really REALLY committed, 500%. I remember once the then-chancellor Gordon Brown saying he was 101% behind Tony Blair, to which people reacted 'What? Only 101?'"
Ricardo Molina, London, UK
The ones that are new to me:
"My employers (top half of FTSE 100) recently informed staff that we are no longer allowed to use the phrase brain storm because it might have negative connotations associated with fits. We must now take idea showers. I think that says it all really."
Anonymous, England
At my old company (a US multinational), anyone involved with a particular product was encouraged to be a product evangelist. And software users these days, so we hear, want to be platform atheists so that their computers will run programs from any manufacturer."
Philip Lattimore, Thailand
Melissa Lobsinger
The cliches that I have used are:
1) Going forward
"It was understood to mean that the topic of conversation was at an end and not be discussed again."
2) Brain storm
"This has a negative connotation with fits. It is recommended that we use 'take idea showers'."
The new ones are:
11 Low hanging fruit
"The shorthand for quick win is now low hanging fruit."
3 Product evangelist and platform atheist
"Anyone involved with a particular product was encouraged to be a product evangelist. Software users want to be platform atheists so that their computers will run programs from any manufacturer."
Verona
The two that I am familiar with are:
1. Get all my ducks in a row.
2. From the get go.
The two that I am unfamiliar with are:
1. The term loop back which means go back to an associate and deal with them.
2. We've got our fingers down the throat of the organisation of that nodule. Which means, we sorted out the problems to cover your backside.
Lia Muth
Although, I did not expect this site to have individual people listing what they thought to be cliche, I did pick out a few phrases I knew:
"I've got you in my radar." Is something I have used.
"Looking under the bonnet." Is similar to the phrase I use, "Not a lot going on under the helmet."
"Conversate," is something I use often.
I still remember using, "From the get-go," because it was something passed down through generations.
But these two were very new to me:
"360- degree thinking."
and, "Loop back."
SHENEA WALKER
From all the cliches I found two I use sometimes in work:
- "going forward"
- "110%"
The rest of them they are complety new for me, but one I learn recently in my classes is:
"Feeding it back"
and this one is new for me but catch my attention "Leverage" that meaning is something like get it free your talents.
November 20, 2009
Roxana Alvarez
The two that are not familiar to me are:
Incentivise is the one that does it for me.
Loop back which means go backto an associate and deal with them.
These two I use sometime
Pre-prepare and forward planning.Is there any other kind of preparedness or planning.
Pre-plan there is no such thing.Either you plan or you don't.
Dorothea M.
Most of the cliches are new to me.
I have used:
1- From the get go #19
2- Go forward # 20
New to me
1- Get all my ducks in the row #24
2- I have got you under my radar
Mianta
I think the most common words for me in a company that is mostly used is challange and optimistic. Challange replaced the word problem. And optimistic replaced the word predict. The cliches that were new to me are project evangelist (which means to be part of a product), and loop back (meaning to deal with an employee)
Angela
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