Run It Up the Flagpole
run it up thuh FLAG-pohlverb
What it means
To float an idea publicly so that the reaction can be measured before anyone is held responsible for it.
What it actually means
I am testing whether this will get me fired.
How it is used in a sentence
"Let me run it up the flagpole and see if it flies."
Filed under
Business Bafflegab — Language engineered so that nothing is ever anyone’s fault and no decision is ever final.
Euphemism — The phrase hides something specific. We decode it.
Related entries
Socialise
Business BafflegabSOH-shuh-lyzverbEuphemism
To introduce an idea to enough people individually that objecting to it in public would cost more than agreeing to it.
Real meaningYou will hear about this in the meeting, and it will already be decided.
Optics
Business BafflegabOP-tiksnounEuphemism
The branch of corporate philosophy concerned not with whether a decision is wrong, but with how it will read in a screenshot.
Real meaningWe are not asking whether it is right. We are asking how it will look.