Terminology, etiquette, and conventions used when doing business in English.
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votes
1answer
47 views
use of phrasal verb “reach out” meaning to contact someone [closed]
This morning when I was writing a note I've got myself in doubt about using the reach out phrasal verb. My intention is to tell a person that I tried to reach him out, but, this is the doubt. What is ...
5
votes
8answers
2k views
“Does it make sense?” or “Do you understand me?”?
Suppose I tell something to my companion and I want to make sure he understands me. I thought I may simply ask "Do you understand me?". But recently I heard that in such cases I should ask "Does it ...
-3
votes
1answer
51 views
Can I say I landed at Boston? [closed]
I know the plane lands in Boston but can I say I landed at Boston ?
2
votes
2answers
150 views
Word or phrase for mere coincidence that brings happiness
I wish to state that my exposure to a certain area was a mere coincidence, and I am happy about the area. Moreover, I want to convey the idea that the incident was like a fairytale, something no one ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views
“Principal” vs “owner”
What is the business perception of identifying yourself as the Principal vs the Owner? I assume they are largely synonymous (please tell me if there are subtle differences, but in a small business ...
1
vote
2answers
111 views
How should “The Cloud” be capitalized?
"We are migrating our core systems into (1) The Cloud ... or (2) the cloud ... or (3) the Cloud???"
I've googled (Googled?) this and found the usual range of differing opinions but as yet no ...
1
vote
1answer
68 views
Raising a letter of credit
What does raise mean in the following sentence?
The Letter of Credit to be raised as soon as possible after the Contract signature.
Does it mean collecting the money? Or something else?
-1
votes
0answers
22 views
business consultant vs. business advisor
I need to get to grips with the terms business advisor and business consultant.
What is the difference between these two terms/roles and broadly speaking, what
kind of work are these two career ...
2
votes
5answers
2k views
“Out of the box” — when should I use this phrase?
I send a lot of unsolicited emails. In many of them, I ask to buy traditional advertising spots or to help conceive a non-traditional campaign. Oftentimes, I find myself describing these ...
9
votes
2answers
150 views
Is the word “clinic”, as in a basketball clinic, a natural and “warm” choice compared to alternatives such as “camp” and “program”?
I'm developing a website for a client who provides physical education programs for elementary schools. The client frequently uses the word clinic to refer to his more targeted sports programs for ...
0
votes
2answers
257 views
What do you call the main telephone number?
I understand that someone's work phone might have an extension. What do you call the main number of that office, which would normally be answered by an operator or a computer voice system?
Would it ...
4
votes
7answers
220 views
Antonym of “Cascade”
In our company, at the beginning of year, we have what is known as Goals Cascading. Essentially, the senior most people in the firm set goals for the entire firm and then the people at the next level ...
59
votes
9answers
13k views
Can “thanks in advance” be considered rude?
Some argue that because “thanks in advance” is written before any help has been offered, it adds an expectation of help and thus can be considered presumptuous.
Is this reasonable? Would it be ...
3
votes
1answer
256 views
“personal issue”, “private issue”, “personal affair”, or “personal business”?
I need to send my boss mail explaining that because of a personal issue I need to handle, I can’t attend the conference. Which of these phrases would best express that I have my own business to deal ...
5
votes
3answers
4k views
Which preposition to use in “communication [over, by, through, via, with] email”? [closed]
Which of these is most correct, and why?
Our team kept in constant communication over email.
Our team kept in constant communication by email.
Our team kept in constant communication through email.
...
-1
votes
1answer
140 views
Is “come again” an absolute slang? [closed]
I am not a native English speaker and use the expression "come again" in various forms such as "Come again, please" or "Can you come again?". I consider it to be a general expression which can also be ...
-4
votes
1answer
79 views
Hypernym for “customer,” “supplier”, “manufacturer” [closed]
I need an abstraction for the above terms.
In financial services, counterparty is often used.
Another hypernym could be account (although this sounds more like a bank account, or user/login ...
7
votes
4answers
4k views
Appropriate to start business email or letter with just “Dear,”?
Is it appropriate to start a business letter or email with just "Dear,"?
I specifically refer to the case where there is no noun following "Dear,", so no "Dear All,", or "Dear Mr.,", or "Dear ...
0
votes
3answers
96 views
A word for “not needing directions in order to solve an issue”?
Is there a word to describe the ability to be able to complete tasks without necessarily needing instructions, i.e. finding it out yourself.
It's for a personal profile in a CV.
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votes
3answers
68 views
Is a certification “gotten”, “earned”, or “obtained”? [closed]
When you pass the exam for certification in ABC, which if any of these work, and which if any do not work?
You get a certification in ABC.
You earn a certification in ABC.
You obtain a certification ...
0
votes
1answer
113 views
Can I use a plural last name as my company name? [closed]
So let’s assume my last name is Norton and I’m starting a publishing company. I want it to be “Nortons, Limited”. It is quite common to use plurals in company names — for example, Waterstones, ...
1
vote
3answers
588 views
What is the best answer to the question “How are you” in business meetings? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When someone asks, “How are you?”
Every time when my colleges from USA ask me "How are you?" I don't know what should I answer. I think that answer like "Fine, thanks. ...
0
votes
5answers
100 views
Concise phrase for “former employees' tasks” [closed]
I'm looking for a short, snappy alternative word/phrase meaning "person who has left the company".
I have very limited space available (20 characters) for a label that conveys (in prose):
List ...
6
votes
4answers
938 views
What is the best antonym for “Approve” in the context of approving a business-related application
I work a lot with business applications and traditionally I've used the word "disapprove" as the counterpart to application approvals (e.g. disapprove leave application, disapprove waiver). But I've ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
What is a one-person business called?
I'm wondering what is the term for the person, that is doing business on his/her own and has tax liability. It's different in each country, I'd like to know how they are called in USA and UK.
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Is “premises” always plural?
On-premises ... On-premise
I see these terms frequently used to describe software systems hosted within a company's datacenter vs. software systems hosted externally by a third party (in the ...
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2answers
82 views
Content Performance [closed]
What is a right word to describe Content/Performance? It is about best and effective content that form a complete artefact.
The example text as below:
5.4.1 Content/Performance
This is about a ...
11
votes
2answers
3k views
Use of “deadpool” as a verb
I recently came across this term while examining a set of properties in a JSON feed relating to a startup company:
...
"deadpooled_year": null,
"deadpooled_month": null,
"deadpooled_day": null,
...
4
votes
3answers
134 views
the word “partner” in business situations
In business situations, is it acceptable to introduce a business partner as simply "my partner" or is it necessary to specify "my business partner"? I have seen both used and the issue seems to ...
1
vote
3answers
514 views
Greeting in different ways [closed]
I'm going to go to US for a long business trip, during which I'm going to meet a lot of people. Some of them are senior managers; others are day-to-day colleagues.
I want to know how to greet people ...
9
votes
4answers
4k views
Meaning of “reach out to somebody”
The dictionary explains this as:
To show somebody that you are interested in them and/or want to help them
The explanation indicates the subject of the sentence is the one that offers help, but ...
5
votes
1answer
84 views
OED Appeals: Antedatings of “headhunter”
The OED has made a public appeal for help in tracing the history of some English words, including:
headhunter
noun earlier than 1960
The tribal practice of decapitating enemies and ...
4
votes
5answers
707 views
Is it bad behavior to add filler words such as “so”, “um” in business speak?
Sometimes when I speak with my fellows at work, I start my sentences with "so" or "um". I don't know if this a bad behavior in business speak or not? If so, how can I get rid of those filler words?
5
votes
4answers
6k views
Meaning of “catch you on the flip side”
I received an email from a coworker, and we're not that friendly. Actually, we're not friends at all, just two good colleagues. In his email, he wrote as his last sentence
Catch you on the flip ...
1
vote
2answers
4k views
Stock quantity of products — the most proper abbreviation
What is a commonly accepted abbreviation with regard to stock quantity of (countable) products?
As in: "200 units" of sth, just shorter.
I've come across the form "200 pc.", but as it's coming from ...
2
votes
1answer
349 views
Periods after directional abreviation in address
I am creating a business card, and I need to put the address of the company on it. What is the proper way to write this address?
555 14th St NW, Atlanta, GA 55555
555 14th St NW., Atlanta, ...
2
votes
2answers
252 views
How can I politely tell a customer that we only provide e-mail support? [closed]
I'm running an online e-commerce site but use only e-mails for customer service to cut the expense.
When a customer asks me by e-mail if he/she can call me for some questions, how can I politely ...
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Is there a collective term for charges & fees?
Say I have documentation of a particular account with both amounts credited & amounts charged(fees). What would be an appropriately descriptive term for the collection of credits & ...
5
votes
2answers
122 views
“Space” as a synonym for industry, sector or business segment
When, and from where, did "space", as a synonym for industry, sector, or business segment, enter the language? For example, one wouldn't expect to read "His family made a fortune in the buggy whip ...
2
votes
0answers
34 views
Is it acceptable to write “Best Regards” with a capital “R” and not followed by a comma? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
'Thanks and Regards,' or 'Thanks and regards,'?
Should you use a comma/period after "Thanks"/"Regards" in email signatures?
In my ...
0
votes
2answers
181 views
A word in Business terminology
I'm trying to describe the action of taking one-time customers and have them pay for a subscription product.
So for instance if I own a coffee shop and I get money from customers coming at all times, ...
3
votes
1answer
113 views
Where does the nounification of 'spend' come from? [closed]
For example,
the estimated spend for Q3 is a million dollars.
0
votes
2answers
249 views
What is the best way to say that something was done in teamwork?
In my resume, I'm describing several projects I've worked on in the past. Most
of them were done in teamwork. What is the best way to say this?
Examples:
Together with XY, I built ... OR
In ...
1
vote
1answer
934 views
“Firstname” or “First Name”?
In filling out forms, I'm starting to see a lot of this:
Firstname: xx
Lastname: yy
Is it generally acceptable to join the words like that? Or should we be sticking to:
First Name: ...
2
votes
3answers
183 views
When 'business' means a 'company', how do I use the word? [closed]
Business can sometimes mean company or firm. However, can it be used in the way company or firm are used?
For example, can I say:-
"He is the CEO of the business."
"It's a TV business."
"A ...
2
votes
2answers
119 views
Why “buy authentic”?
Authentic means: “of undisputed origin, made or done in a traditional way”.
But I’m confused because every product made had some origin from a previous product or idea. The way I see it, buy ...
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4answers
1k views
“Let me say this on the outset …”
Is “let me say this on the outset” formal English in business-speak? What does it really mean?
3
votes
4answers
271 views
Double Copula or “double is” in professional/technical writing
I am proofreading a professional, technical text written by someone else. In the text, I encountered, "But, the reality is is a..." My intuition says that this should be rewritten as, "But, the ...
3
votes
2answers
762 views
When can you start wishing people a good weekend?
In Belgian culture (and some others, I suppose) it is not uncommon to wish people a good weekend when you meet them on Friday. Not just when you go home after work, but also in the store around noon, ...
4
votes
4answers
652 views
What does the word “hacking” or “hacker” come from? [closed]
Is there a history behind the word "hacker" and "hacking"?
Could it have anything to do with "hashing" i.e. using a hash function?
