Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and this is a public service announcement against jargon. What do I mean by jargon? This could be any word or phrase that is specific to your specialty that is either overused or completely empty of any logical meaning. I’m a journalist, and jargon in my profession usually includes unnecessarily long words, like “pedestrian” instead of “person walking,” or cliches, like “run roughshod over.”
Corporate jargon is one of my worst enemies. As an editor, if I see “complex interdependencies” or “thinking laterally across boundaries,” I will leave some very calm comments suggesting a rephrasing. IF you have something you want to say, say it. Don’t hide behind incomprehensible jargon. What does it even mean to “think laterally”?
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