Have you heard or are you using these slang
expressions at work? Quite often times, the office jargon delicately masks the
reality, exaggerates or in some cases expresses irony for the purpose of making
the truth sound more palatable or euphemizing the impact of actual words. Some
might use the office jargon to “seem like an intellectual; hide their
incompetence; sugarcoat the words; express irony; impress their boss and
colleagues.”
Let us work on these expressions that are
often used in your office.
1.
nepo baby: The
word nepo is an informal shortening of nepotism, which refers to favoritism
that a person receives due to a family relation. The word baby indicates the
familial relationship (in a way that can be intended to be mocking or
infantilizing).
2.
(more/all) power to one’s elbow: an
expression said to wish someone luck and to encourage them to be successful
3.
golden parachute: It
is an agreement between a company and an employee (usually upper executive)
specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if
employment is terminated.
4.
to push the envelope: To
push something to the limit or extend the limits of what is possible/ To make
every possible effort in doing…
5.
to have someone under one’s wings: to
help, teach, or take care of (someone who is younger or has less experience) He
took the rookie pitcher under his wing.
6.
the elephant in the room (or corner): A
large obvious issue, everyone is aware of, but no one wants to talk about it (a
sore spot).
7.
at the end of the day:
Unless it is really the end of the day, say ”Finally”, “Ultimately”.
8.
low-hanging fruit :To
pick an easy task or anything that is easily attainable (with little effort). I
wish you could pick the low hanging fruit and try to make your speech simple
and less complicated.
9.
to take a shine to someone: to
like someone immediately
10. Let the cat out of the bag: To
reveal information that was previously concealed. I never knew pets were
allowed here.
Are you ready to practice what you’ve
learned? Fill in the blanks using the above expressions.
1.
Ted and his boss had a long discussion about
converting their contractors for a while, and at the ( ), they
decided to convert them into employees.
2.
Everybody in this department knew Roger was a
( ) baby, because they thought it
was weird for their manager to take a ( ) to Roger from his day one
at work.
3.
The current president of that country is
never ready to listen to public opinions or any kind of constructive criticism.
Even his cabinet or major mass media could not discuss the biggest ( ) in the room with him.
4.
We need to keep trying to push the ( ) since our market
demands it.
5.
I feel grateful for Matthew. He’s been having
me under ( )
since I started to work here.
6.
In order to cut costs, my company has
recently started with the ( )
fruit: their ad budgets.
7.
Businesses parted from employees with golden
handshakes or golden ( ) or
retained them with golden handcuffs.
8.
The hidden predators must not have imagined
that anyone would let the (
) out of the bag, but now that the “Me, too” movement has spread out
into every corner of our society, a lot of women or men who were sexually harassed
are strongly determined to step up and reveal the truth.
9.
A: "I've decided to quit my job and set
up my own business."
B: "Well, good for you. More power
to your ( )!"
Answer Keys
1.
end of the day
2.
nepo, shine
3.
elephant
4.
envelope
5.
his wings
6.
low-hanging
7.
parachutes
8.
cat
9.
elbow
