Most annoying phrases heard at work

[newbie202020]

I'm on a work-related call and have just heard the dreaded 'let's double-click on that' when someone wants to discuss something in more detail. I'm having to bite my fist.....

Does anyone else want to share?

I work in a co working centre (but for myself) so hear all kinds of shit from jumped up Apprentice candidates- my huge pet hate is the word 'stakeholders'.

I love this thread! I joined the civil service recently and am amazed at the phrases- I've heard worry beads, lean in, giving you time back of a meeting finishes early, legs on the stool, leading the orchestra - the list is endless and makes me cringe 😬

Clunky
sloppy shoulders

Also a civil servant

Frequently heard cringey phrases include:

Let's box that off
Can we circle back to that?
Let's deep dive into it
Who's holding the pen on that?
Let's get granular on that
Reaching out!

Evolve – as in "This [piece of work] needs to be evolved in line with...." meaning redo it. We never change, revise, edit or expand anything, it's always flipping "evolve".
Align – instead of agree
Piece around – meaning piece of work but said about every tiny thing that occurs to someone as in "there's a piece around tax law to consider" or "there's a piece around sending an email"

I hate 'close of play' - this isn't a party!

Also loathe the phrase 'quick and dirty' used by senior management - vile.

And 'our think tank' - pass me the sick bucket 🤢

I've never heard 'let's double click on that' but it's exactly the type of nonsense that is used in the projects team where I work.

My most hated phrases are
'Let's pick this up offline'
'Cascade'
'Can you be more granular/high level'
'Can you feed into X' 🤢
And of course, the dreaded 'reaching out'

I don't really get worked up about things like this. Then again, I must have drunk the Kool-Aid 😜

Yes I don't have a problem with that and I didn't realise other people did.

What do you use instead?

Everytime I hear reach out I can't get the Depeche Mode song out of my head.

My former manager used to say:
low-hanging fruit
pain point
sweet spot (Bleurgh)
reach out
where the rubber hits the road
North Star view
make yourself visible
not pulling up any trees
take this offline
shoulder project
not washing its own face (if something wasn’t working)
…and many, many, many more

I heard that in the 80s traders used to say: ‘let’s open the kimono’ when talking about revealing something, so I started using it as a piss-take and everyone took it seriously 🙄

'tasked with' and using action as a verb make me want to claw my own face off. We got another one the other day - 'touchdown desks', for when hot desks clearly aren't hot enough

"leave it on the wave behind"
Usually said by a senior manager after they've just shat on you all.

"Let's unpack this ". Makes me want to shut them in the bloody "suitcase" and sit on it.

”Is the juice worth the squeeze?” - I would not be able to keep a straight face if I heard this. But I have a filthy mind😅

hated expressions
Do you have the bandwidth to look at this?
revert back\ circle back

I don't really know why, but I don't like "going forward" either.

I use "from now" or "in the future." I am half-jokingly trying to use "henceforth" from time to time.

Another pet peeve is starting an email with "just..." ("Just to ask you..." or "Just a polite reminder..."). Again, I can't put my finger on why that is.

I didn’t do it. Anyway he did it first…
She’s lying. I’m saying the truth. (Usually said by both sides of the argument).
So? I don’t care. (The most annoying one of all.)

I work in a school!! We don’t have anyone reaching out which is a blessing! Unless they are trying to thump someone..

"the piece about...."
I think it's a northern thing. I honestly had no idea what it meant but was in a meeting with a whole bunch of peopIe I'd never met (Well north of Watford!) and they kept saying it.

I think it means what normal people would describe as "The point"

If I could just go back to that point.
If I could just go back to that piece [I was WTAF].

😂😂😂

IMustDoMoreExercise · Today 20:33
Doingmybest12 · Today 19:34

I've caught the 'going forward ' habit and spend too much time rephrasing to avoid saying or typing it.
Yes I don't have a problem with that and I didn't realise other people did.

What do you use instead?

In future?

"Whose holding the pen on this one?"

"It's on my pad"

"Speak to" as in 'don't include that slide as I don't want to speak to it'

Reach out and Going forward are really annoying.

We have a lot of 'art of the possible' as well as 'baking xx into the plan'. It never makes sense to me as if you make a cake say you don't make something in- you just make a cake mix. Perplexing.

'Drilling down into'
'Scores on the doors'
'Blue sky thinking'

All utterly cringeworthy and wank!