What was said? “We cut our teeth with you.”
Did someone really say that? Yes, when talking to a client and sharing details about our company’s rich history.
What does it mean? It indicates where we got our start. It’s about where we gained our experience or learned our trade or skill. In essence, it’s where our story began.
Continue reading “Cut Your Teeth (on something)”
What was said? “We need to rank and file the activities for next year.’”
Did someone really say that? Yes, when planning the 2025 client roadmap in a strategy session.
What does it mean? In the quote above, it was inaccurately referring to the process of prioritization. Rank and File really refers to the “ordinary people” of an organization. In essence, the team, not the leaders.
Continue reading “Rank and File”
What was said? “We need a planning meeting to ‘set the duck.’”
Did someone really say that? Yes, when talking to a client about their need to get organized and prioritize their initiatives for 2025.”
What does it mean? It means to get things in alignment / in order. It is not to be confused by “sitting duck.”
Continue reading “Set the Duck / Get your Ducks in a Row”
What was said? “Eventually, the worm is going to turn.’”
Did someone really say that? Yes, in a meeting discussing employee survey results and how they eventually will “get better.”
What does it mean? In this instance, it’s more about a change in luck. The outlook shifts from a bleak forecast to a bright one. It can also refer to a person who has been treated badly for some time. Eventually, they resist and stand up to their “attacker.”
Continue reading “The Worm Turns”
Volume 3. Issue 9.
What was said? “The meeting was a complete dog’s breakfast…”
Did someone really say that? Yes, in response to the question “how did the meeting go?” and apparently it was a disaster
What does it mean? It really just translates to a complete mess, mish-mash, hodgepodge or something that has gone very badly where the outcome wasn’t what was intended to be
Origin: Since the 1930’s, the saying “dog’s breakfast” has been used in the U.K. and Commonwealth countries as slang for “a complete mess.” First recorded instance is from Eric Partridge, in the 1937 edition of his A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, the expression is listed as “a mess.” Although the origin isn’t exactly known, it alludes to the fact that if what you don’t succeed at what you are cooking, then the results are only fit for a dog. It’s usage can be widespread – from what a messy room looks like, to how a meeting went (like the example above). It is suggested that this dates from a time before canned dog food when a pup’s breakfast would have consisted of dinner leftovers from the night before; hence, “a mess.” Not to be confused with a parallel expression “a dog’s dinner” which means quite the opposite and usually comes in the form of “all dressed up like a dog’s dinner” and sarcastically means over-dressed / showy.
Sources:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dog’s%20breakfast
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/07/magazine/on-language-dog-s-breakfast.html
http://dogknowledge.net/dog-stories-and-facts/dog-funny-stories/a-dogs-breakfast-and-a-dogs-dinner.php
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+dog’s+breakfast
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dog%27s%20breakfast
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/114550.html
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Volume 3. Issue 6.
What was said? “If they are all the right ‘blue birds,’ then no action is required”
Did someone really say that? Yes, in an email referencing a list of potential project / sales opportunities.
What does it mean? An easily made sales opportunity that is unexpected or very profitable.
Origin: Bluebird is defined as ‘happiness’ by the Oxford English Dictionary with its origin dating back to 1909. Most of us know the bluebird (also blue-bird and blue bird) as an actual bird found commonly in North America. The first mention of bluebird was in the “l’Oiseau bleu” 1909 play by Belgian dramatist and poet Maurice Maeterlinck, literally translating to “The Blue Bird” with the figurative speech used in the play “the bluebird of happiness.” Bluebirds tend to elicit happiness as seen in the song “ Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly” from the Wizard of Oz from 1939. The term has been increasingly used in corporate circles in the past few years and “Bluebirds are those new business opportunities, which seem to fly in through the window. Many professional services firms are tempted to pitch for every bluebird that comes their way, but this may not be a profitable use of their resources in the long-term (How to Manage Bluebirds). In a nutshell it’s sales slang for an opportunity (or actual sale) that presents itself to the salesperson or the selling organization without having made much direct effort in securing it.
![[image: slideshow]](https://i0.wp.com/www.blue-bird.com/uploadedImages/Content/Home/homepage-2.jpg)
Side Note: Most school buses in the US are made by the Blue Bird Corporation, which began in 1927 and is based in Fort Valley, GA.
Sources:
http://salesdictionary.com/index.php?term=b&tab=%3F
http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/bluebird
http://www.waywordradio.org/bluebird/
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=hermann+maurice+saxe
http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/new-words-in-business/1/13969.html
http://www.infobarrel.com/The_Blue_Bird_of_Happiness_Phrase:_Origins_and_Meanings
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