Meeting That Could Have Been an Email
MEE-ting that kood hav been an EE-maylphrase
What it means
A gathering held because someone wanted to speak rather than write, at a cost borne by everyone.
What it actually means
This was a status update.
How it is used in a sentence
"That was a meeting that could have been an email."
Filed under
Work & Ambition — Everything your employer calls a benefit and your therapist calls a symptom.
Diagnosis — The phrase already names a real problem. We define it properly.
Related entries
Stand-Up
Work & AmbitionSTAND-upnounBafflegab
A brief daily meeting in which people describe work they have not done since the last one.
Real meaningFifteen minutes of performance before actual work.
Hard Stop
Business Bafflegabhard stopnounBafflegab
The moment a meeting must end, disclosed forty minutes in and treated by everyone as an act of God rather than a calendar.
Real meaningI have somewhere better to be, and you are hearing about it now.