Top 25 Engineering Terms and Expressions (What they say and what they really mean)

• Customer satisfaction is believed to be assured. (We're so far behind schedule that the customer will settle for anything.)Please see me / Let's discuss it. (I need your help. I've screwed up again.)

• The project is in process. (It's so tied up in red tape that it's completely hopeless.)

• We're trying a number of different approaches. (We still guessing, at this point.)

• We're following the standard. (We've always done it this way.)

• Close project coordination. (We met together and had coffee.)

• Years of development. (It finally worked.)

• Energy saving. (Turn off the power to save electricity.)

•  We'll have to abandon the entire concept. (The only person who understood the thing just quit.)

• We had a major technological breakthrough. (It's boring, but it looks high tech.)

• We're preparing a report with a fresh approach. (We just hired a couple of kids out of college.)

• Preliminary operational tests proved inconclusive. (It blew up when we flipped the switch.)

• Test results proved extremely gratifying. (Yahoo! It actually worked.)

• Please read and initial. (We want to spread around the responsibility.)

• Tell us what you are thinking. (We'll listen, but if it disagrees with what we've already done or are planning to do, forget it.)

• Tell us your interpretation. (Let's hear your bull.)

• We'll look into it. (Forget it! We've got so many other problems already, we'll never get to it.)

• No maintenance. (If it breaks, we can't fix it.)

• Low maintenance. (If it breaks, we're no likely able to fix it.)

• All new. (None of the parts are interchangeable with the previous design.)

• Rugged. (Needs major equipment to lift it.)

• Robust. (More than rugged.)

• Light weight. (A little less than rugged.)

• Fax it to me. (I'm too lazy to write it down.)

• I haven't gotten your email. (It's been days since I've checked my email.)