Reach out: Difference between revisions

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An expression confected by the Americans as a way of saying “speak to” while conveying an insincere tone of compassion and self-sacrifice on the part of the person uttering it, as if the act of “reaching out” will magically gladden the reachee’s working day, and not compound {{sex|her}} already significant existential despair.
An expression confected by well-meaning management consultants as a way of saying “speak to” while conveying an insincere tone of compassion and self-sacrifice on the part of the person uttering it, as if the act of “reaching out” will magically gladden the reachee’s working day, and not compound her already significant existential despair:


Fans of this expression should tread carefully: one can over-extend the {{tag|metaphor}}. An unfortunate lady [[managing director]] at Goldman once offered to “[[reach around]]” a group of operations personnel in London, and was surprised with the enthusiasm with which her offer was taken up.
:''“I will reach out to relevant team to complete the action points, prepare a final change impact document, seek approval from entity responsible officer. From there, we’ll execute the task list. I will keep this group posted on the development.”''<ref>This is a real, unedited, example. No art could imitate life that exquisitely.</ref>
 
Users of this expression should tread carefully, as one can over-extend the {{tag|metaphor}}. An unfortunate lady [[managing director]] in New York once offered to “[[reach around]]” a group of operations personnel in London, and was surprised with the enthusiasm with which her offer was taken up.


Dismaying variations:
Dismaying variations:
*“[[reach out]] and touch”  
*“[[reach out]] and touch”  
*“[[reach out]] and [[connect with]]”
*“[[reach out]] and [[connect with]]”
 
{{published}}
{{ref}}
{{c2|Egg|Buzzverb}}
{{c2|Egg|Buzzverb}}

Revision as of 13:43, 9 June 2017

An expression confected by well-meaning management consultants as a way of saying “speak to” while conveying an insincere tone of compassion and self-sacrifice on the part of the person uttering it, as if the act of “reaching out” will magically gladden the reachee’s working day, and not compound her already significant existential despair:

“I will reach out to relevant team to complete the action points, prepare a final change impact document, seek approval from entity responsible officer. From there, we’ll execute the task list. I will keep this group posted on the development.”[1]

Users of this expression should tread carefully, as one can over-extend the metaphor. An unfortunate lady managing director in New York once offered to “reach around” a group of operations personnel in London, and was surprised with the enthusiasm with which her offer was taken up.

Dismaying variations:

Published on LinkedIn

References

  1. This is a real, unedited, example. No art could imitate life that exquisitely.