Haiku #093
Glossary for this haiku
Pouncing
ClaudionaryA Claude Code spinner-verb. See the full entry for the full story.
Read the full entry →optimize
BureaucraticEtym.from L. optimus, 'best,' later anglicized as optimize into managerial parlance circa 2008 by a consultancy associate who needed a verb implying progress without accountability, see Halpern, Corporate Lexica 2011.
A verb used to reframe cuts, delays, or metric gymnastics as intentional improvement.
'We will optimize retention by Q4' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 12
bandwidth
BureaucraticEtym.From electrical-engineering jargon for spectral capacity, repurposed by corporate communicators in the 1990s to quantify time and attention, see H. L. Carrington, Corporate Lexicon Review 1999.
A polite, numeric-sounding metaphor used to excuse declined requests by attributing failure to limited human time or attention.
'I don't have the bandwidth for that' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 12
scale
ColloquialEtym.From L. scala, 'ladder', repurposed into corporate parlance circa 2010 by a consulting associate who needed a word that implied growth without immediate budgeting, see Henley, Corporate Metaphors, 2014.
To defer investment decisions and accountability by framing operational expansion as an inevitable future state rather than a present cost.
'We will scale next quarter' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 12
in conclusion
BureaucraticEtym.from late Middle English prepositional clause used to signal an ending, repurposed in corporate rhetoric circa 2005 by slide-deck consultants seeking tidy closure; see Harrison, The Language of Closure, 2012.
Serves as a ritual verbal capstone that signals the end of discussion while deflecting responsibility for unresolved details.
'In conclusion, the roadmap will be iterated based on feedback' - Q3 Board Deck, slide 47