What was said? “You may want to tell me to ‘go fly a kite!’”
Did someone really say that? Yes, in a meeting where a topic was being discussed at length.
What does it mean? It’s telling someone to go away, leave you alone.
Continue reading “Go Fly A Kite”
What was said? “He’s such a fly in the ointment.”
Did someone really say that? Yes, in the side chat of a virtual meeting after someone stopped the light-hearted, pre-meeting banter with a “let’s get this meeting started already” comment.
What does it mean? In essence, it refers to someone or something that spoils fun! It means an “irritant” and something that is annoying.
Continue reading “Fly in the Ointment”
What was said? “Clear as mud!”
Did someone really say that? Yes, in response to a presentation a coworker gave on “how to strategize and win the game of ‘settlers of Catan.’”
What does it mean? It means difficult to see or understand, and is typically used sarcastically referring to something that is anything but “clear as mud!”
Continue reading “As Clear As Mud”
What was said? “If we get the funding too late, we’ll be behind the eight ball.”
Did someone really say that? Yes, when talking about the risks on a project if we get started later than planned!
What does it mean? It basically means to be put in a tight spot, at a disadvantage.
Continue reading “Behind the 8 Ball”
What was said? “We should put a tiger team on that, pronto!”
Did someone really say that? Yes, at another alumni board meeting when talking about breaking out in teams to tackle specific problems.
What does it mean? A tiger team is a specialized team that focuses on a specific goal to solve a particular problem. In the business setting it usually refers to putting a team of people with mixed skills/abilities to tackle a problem from multiple angles… usually at a fast, aggressive pace.
Continue reading “Tiger Team”
What was said? “Ok team – let’s gin up!”
Did someone really say that? Yes, at an alumni board meeting when our team was about to present our proposal / plan.
What does it mean? In the context above, it means to get the team excited / stimulated and stir up some feedback on what we were about to present.
However, there are some uses where it is meant to be more focused on generating interest / discussion through dishonest ways – which was not the intention above! (has nothing to do with the alcohol gin, despite the image I chose for this post!)
Continue reading “Gin Up!”
What was said? “We need to nip this in the bud before it becomes a bigger problem.”
Did someone really say that? Yes, during a discussion around product quality and some issues that were found.
What does it mean? It means to stop something before it has a chance to “blossom.” The idea being if you have a small(ish) problem and “nip it in the bud” then you stop it from becoming a larger problem / crisis. If you have a plant that you prune / nip in the bud, you are effectively cutting it off so it won’t grow or blossom into a flower. It has nothing to do with human anatomy where many think the expression is Nip it in the Butt!
Continue reading “Nip it in the Bud (not Butt!)”
What was said? “Talking to each of them is like the tale of two tapes.”
Did someone really say that? Yes, on a work call when asking for the status of a project from a manager where two of his direct reports were co-managing it.
What does it mean? In the context above – the individual was alluding to two people who had different stories / takes on what was going on. It is usually intended when comparing things.
Continue reading “Tale of Two Tapes”
What was said? “That’s me to a T!”
Did someone really say that? Yes, my coworker responded with the saying after I mentioned, “It’s only 10am and I’m already thinking about lunch!”
What does it mean? The gist of “to a T” is that it it’s exactly right, and in the proclamation above, what I said fit my colleague perfectly!
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What was said? They want it all – from soup to nuts!
Did someone really say that? Yes – when talking about a new project and what’s in scope (which led us to brainstorm new ones to try to plant like “from larva to kaleidoscope”).
What does it mean? It means the whole thing – from start to finish – the whole “enchilada” if you will.
Continue reading “From Soup to Nuts”
HOT Idioms 