"That's interesting"
=I've never seen anything remotely like that before
"We'll just run diagnostics"
=I wonder if that will give us a clue
"OK, that's good"
=what the hell was that noise?
"We've noticed some failure evidence"
=something's burning
"A number of different approaches are being tried"
= we are still pissing in the wind
"Major technological breakthrough"
= it works OK, but looks very hi-tech
"All new"
= parts not interchangeable with the previous design
"Rugged"
= too damn heavy to lift
"lightweight"
= lighter than rugged.
"energy saving"
= achieved when the power switch is off
"low maintenance"
= impossible to fix if broken
An extensive report is being prepared on a fresh approach to the problem
= We just took on three new university graduates
Close project co-ordination
= We know who to blame.
Customer satisfaction is assured
= We are so far behind schedule the customer is happy to get it delivered at all
Preliminary operational tests were inconclusive
= It blew up when we turned it on
Test results were extremely gratifying
= We were amazed to find it works
The entire concept will have to be abandoned
= The only person who understood the thing has left
We will look into it
= Forget it! We have enough problems for now.
Please note and initial
= Let's spread the responsibility for the mess
Give us the benefit of your thinking
= We'll listen to what you have to say as long as it doesn't interfere with what we've already done.
See me, or let's discuss
= Come into my office, I'm lonely
Years of development
= One finally worked.
