Why does my boss talk shite?

I know my blog is Thai-orientated and the topics that I discuss usually reflect this. However, I read an email from my boss today that stopped me in my tracks like the pungent aroma of a sweaty Iranian.

Here is the paragraph from the email in question……

“Planning this in as a regular get together meeting, apart from communicating where we are, what other things do you think would be valuable to use this time to cover off?”

What on earth does “cover off” actually mean? Why not simple use the word “cover”….is there anything else that you would like to cover in the meeting?

The people who use the phrase “cover off” are the same cretinous morons who litter their communications with corporate buzzwords and pointless jargon, such as “proactive, value-added, deliverables, incentivise, and core competencies”, not to mention the profoundly annoying “moving forward”.

I think those in positions of authority use this gobbledygook to try and deflect attention away from their own failings. In an endeavour to cover up their shortcomings, they foist meaningless words and phrases on their employees. These unfortunate lackeys then use this “management-speak” in their own communications, thus creating an on-going cycle of drivel.

I would just like to advise my boss that you can do the following:

Kick off, tee off, face off, blast off and even jerk off, but you can’t “cover off”, it just doesn’t make sense!!!!

Make no mistake, we are fighting for our lingusitic lives!!! There are battles raging everyday between the defenders of plain English and dark forces of verbal diarrhoea!!!

I urge you to take up the struggle and help rid the world of jargon, waffle and guff!! You can begin your noble quest, by logging on to the "Plain English Campagin" website........

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/

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