The BS Dictionary: Uncovering the Origins and True Meanings of Business Speak

Anyone baffled by buzzwords or dubious about deliverables will find amusement, though perhaps not hilarity, in PR expert Wiltfong and marketing v-p Ito’s look at corporate nonsense-speak. Each word or phrase is given a standard dictionary-style definition, a sardonic “BS” definition, and some background on etymology. The entries range from cranky (the BS definition of “actionable” is “literally nothing on the list of items that comes from the innovation team”) to snarky (for “ghosting,” “what your boss does when you ask for a raise”). The definitions should raise a knowing giggle from anyone who’s had to operationalize their paradigm shift when the boss has them over a barrel, but it’s hard to imagine who, with Google at their disposal, would actually need this as a working dictionary. The authors acknowledge as much in the introduction, but scoff at the variable credibility of people writing on the internet, and in any case, aim more for amusement than instruction. This is a natural gift for a newly minted MBA, or as a passive-aggressive suggestion to that friend who won’t shut up about having “laser focus,” but the central conceit of this gimmicky humor offering gets old fairly fast. (May)