What The Most Overused Sassy Office Phrases Really Mean

Drop what you’re doing, someone just asked to jump on a “quick call”…

No matter how long you’ve been in the game, the soundtrack of office life is impossible to escape — a medley of buzzwords, clichés and the oh-so-passive-aggressive gem. From deciphering what “low-hanging fruit” actually means to dodging someone trying to “touch base”, these phrases are as much a part of work culture as lukewarm coffee and Slack notifications. So, here’s our round-up of the top 10 most overheard office phrases — we’re stuck hearing them, and now you are, too.

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“Who proof-read this?”

AKA — Your article is full of typos. 

“My internet is lagging, I’m going to keep my camera off.”

AKA — I haven’t gotten out of pyjamas yet.

“Let’s take this offline.”

AKA — Don’t make me embarrass you in front of everyone. 

“What’s the Hong Kong angle?”

AKA — Stop pitching generic article ideas from other publications.

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“Let’s circle back to that.”

AKA — I’m giving you time to come up with a better idea.

“Can everyone please close their laptops?”

AKA — Pay attention to me.

“Let’s table that for now.”

AKA — I hope we never discuss this again. 

“I’ve been chasing them.”

AKA — I’m trying to get them to stop ignoring me (it hasn’t been going well).

“Gentle reminder…”

AKA — Someone royally screwed up.

“Let me get back to you on that.”

AKA — You’re never hearing from me again.

“Can we spice up the images a bit?”

AKA — Someone call Grace.

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