High Falutin' Goofy Talk: II

Many of us are engaged in an unending search for fresh, impactful ways to convey simple ideas. We use phrases, metaphors, and images that we believe few have heard or seen. For maximum impact, we must be the first, or among the first, to use them. But with use, their impact declines, until the phrases become trite. At that point, using them marks the users not as dynamic leaders, but as followers, unaware that the usage is now passé.

Here's Part II of a list of phrases that are no longer fresh. See "High Falutin' Goofy Talk," Point Lookout for November 13, 2002, for Part I.

at the bleeding edge

This is a pun on "leading edge." The leading edge of a field of knowledge is where we would find the latest or most up-to-date set of practices, tools, procedures, and so on. The bleeding edge is ahead of that, and consequently, riskier and perhaps less reliable. The term leading edge is probably a reference to the forward edge of an aircraft wing.

Like most Many common business phrases
seem clever enough to repeat,
but some have been repeated so
often that they aren't worth repeatingmetaphors, this one was powerful once, and even funny at the level of a chuckle. It's now so overused that the funny has worn off.

it is what it is

The meaning of this one is about equivalent to c'est la vie — that's Life, or that's the way it goes — older expressions that have served us well.

Using this more recent form of c'est la vie was advantageous to the user when the new form was fresh. It drew positive attention, and emphasized the user's point. It's no longer fresh. C'est la vie.

to move the needle

This phrase is a metaphor for making a small change, one that just barely registers. The needle in question here is the needle of a meter on the display panel of a measurement instrument, such as a voltmeter, fuel gauge, or VU meter. To "move the needle" is to induce a change in the quantity being measured significant enough to cause the meter's needle to move. One speaks of moving the needle only when the changes are relatively small.

Use of this phrase is increasing, but nevertheless, it's overused. Why not just describe the change as "small but noticeable" or "small but profound?"

game-changer

A game-changer is a new technology, strategy, proposal, team member — new something that alters how a situation will evolve. The term became popular in business in the 1990s, but it was first used in sports in 1982 [Safire 2008].

The term game-changer is no longer fresh — no longer, um, a game-changer in meetings. Try transformative — it's more erudite.

take it off line

This phrase is a suggestion, request, or command to two or more people, usually in a meeting, to please continue their exchange at another time, not in the meeting. It was clever once, when most meetings were face-to-face. The users of the phrase were then able to convey the idea that most of their meetings, unlike the current one, were mediated electronically in one form or another. At the time, it indicated the user's elevated status or importance. Today, though, virtual meetings are common. To "take it off line" is now very often literally correct, and using it conveys no impression of elevated status.

An alternative is asking, simply, "Can you suspend for now and continue after the meeting?"

Space doesn't permit a complete list of all phrases comprising high falutin' goofy talk. Watch for a future installment. First in this series   Top    Next Issue

Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't even think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours? Read 303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, filled with tips and techniques for succeeding in workplace politics. More info

Reader Comments

Roland Cole, Senior Fellow, Sagamore Institute for Policy Research

The most important point about "high-falutin goofy talk" is that its elements/phrases go in and out of style. To use one of its phrases early is OK; at the height of popularity or shortly afterwards is not. What that suggests is that one might be able to recycle phrases (perhaps found in great literature) to fresh effect for a while. "Brush up your Shakespeare," indeed! <grin>

This column, like the monument it is named after, intrigues my imagination (i.e., makes me think). For me, that is the highest recommendation I can give short articles like these.

Footnotes

Your comments are welcome

Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrennkWwmGTWXbiDQWgZner@ChacPRbDIuHZxcDxPKKXoCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.

About Point Lookout

Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.

Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.

Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.

Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.

Related articles

More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:

Discussus Interruptus

You're chairing a meeting, and to your dismay, things get out of hand. People interrupt each other so often that nobody can complete a thought, and some people dominate the meeting. What can you do?

Team-Building Travails

Team-building is one of the most common forms of team "training." If only it were the most effective, we'd be in a lot better shape than we are. How can we get more out of the effort we spend building teams?

The Questions Not Asked

Often, the path to forward progress is open and waiting, but we don't recognize it, or we convince ourselves it isn't there. Learning to see what we believe isn't there is difficult. Here are some reasons why.

The Myth of Difficult People

Many books and Web sites offer advice for dealing with difficult people. There are indeed some difficult people, but are they as numerous as these books and Web sites would have us believe? I think not.

How We Waste Time: II

We're all pretty good at wasting time. We're also fairly certain we know when we're doing it. But we're much better at it than we know. Here's Part II of a little catalog of time wasters, emphasizing those that are outside — or mostly outside — our awareness.

See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Effective Communication at Work for more related articles.

Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming April 24: Big, Complicated Problems

Big, complicated problems can be difficult to solve. Even contemplating them can be daunting. But we can survive them if we get advice we can trust, know our resources, recall solutions to past problems, find workarounds, or as a last resort, escape. Available here and by RSS on April 24.

And on May 1: Full Disclosure

The term "full disclosure" is now a fairly common phrase, especially in news interviews and in film and fiction thrillers involving government employees or attorneys. It also has relevance in the knowledge workplace, and nuances associated with it can affect your credibility. Available here and by RSS on May 1.

Coaching services

I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenjFUiotncvqZLGmoSner@ChacbytAbqjEMDkcaCbwoCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.

Get the ebook!

Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:

• Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, USD 11.95)
• Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, USD 28.99)

Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info

Public seminars

The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power

Many people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.

• A recording of a program presented 6:00 PM June 29 (Eastern Time), Monthly Webinar, Technobility Webinar Series. You can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.