Forgot to do this yesterday - most of my Thursday morning was taken up by all-library staff meeting, during which (while I was paying attention) I caught a few new snippets of Managerial English I thought I'd share. "Managerial English" is of course an oxymoron. It refers to the neverending stream of buzzwords that infiltrates the minds of middle management, like rainwater makes its way through a ill-shingled roof, leaving unpredictable damage and non-removable stains in its wake. Well anyway, here's the latest batch of words and phrases since the last monthly meeting:

Driver: Impetus, Reason, probably from 'driving force'

"The lack of biscuit manufacturing space is the driver for our new cracker reorganization plan."

Lives: To be located, especially on an organizational chart.

"The Department of Widgets is where the new supervisor lives."

Low-Hanging Fruit: Something that can be done now, with no great difficulty.

"Since the spinal realignment brochure is low-hanging fruit, we can make that our first priority."

I've got to say that I'm not normally fond of Managerial English, but "low-hanging fruit" is uncharacteristically risque for the administrative set. So I'm going to allow it - for now...