Unemployment lingo (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Jocelyn Limpert]

Oh, yes, typical DC mispronunciation -- like having a dog "spay-ded" or
saying "ex cetera" or "axe" for "ask" -- BE in DC -- well, also lower grade
[and sometimes not so low!] govt. worker non-BE as well!  It just hurt by
ears and brain hearing it.

On 3/9/09, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
> Subject:      Re: Unemployment lingo (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> I'm a federal govt employee.  Occasionally I hear the word pronounced as
> "rifted" (two syllables).
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> > Behalf Of Jocelyn Limpert
> > Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 1:12 AM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: Re: Unemployment lingo
> >
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> ---------------
> > --------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jocelyn Limpert <jocelyn.limpert at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: Unemployment lingo
> >
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > --------
> >
> > I have heard RIF, RIF'd used all the time in Washington, D.C., when
> > referring to federal government employees. I've been hearing it in
> > common
> > government usage for the past 30 years that I've lived here.
> >
> > On 3/7/09, Dave Wilton <dave at wilton.net> wrote:
> > >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Dave Wilton <dave at WILTON.NET>
> > > Subject:      Re: Unemployment lingo
> > >
> > >
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ----------
> > >
> > > I'd be careful about terms like "rightsize" and "synergy-related
> > headcount
> > > reductions." I've never heard this actually used by anyone in
> > industry, but
> > > they get a lot of play by journalists and others precisely because
> > they're
> > > too cute by half. I'm sure someone, somewhere has used them in other
> > than a
> > > tongue-in-cheek context, but I think those usages are vanishingly
> > rare.
> > >
> > > Another one that is actually used is "RIF" or "reduction in force,"
> > both as
> > > a noun and verb, as in "I've been riffed." I think it started as a
> > > government term that infiltrated private industry.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> > Behalf
> > > Of
> > > Mark Peters
> > > Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 11:41 AM
> > > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > > Subject: Unemployment lingo
> > >
> > > I'm doing a column on the many words and phrases for firing people:
> > let
> > > go, downsize, rightsize, shitcan, sack, discard, terminate, pink
> > slip, show
> > > the door, etc.
> > >
> > > There are two things I'd like to sip (siphon?) from the collective
> > pool of
> > > wisdom:
> > >
> > > 1) What other words fit in this category? I have some recent ones
> > like
> > > getting
> > > fit and synergy-related headcount reductions, but there must be
> > > more.
> > >
> > > 2) Any info on the history of shitcan? The OED doesn't have it, and
> > HDAS
> > > doesn't go that far...
> > >
> > > Thanks!
> > >
> > > Mark
> > >
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> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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