Last blog I shared my “Developer’s Dictionary” and it hit a nerve. Translating dev jargon into real-life metaphors makes a lot of sense, even outside of code. Someone even told me they were going to start adding one-line translations to tickets and onboarding docs. Honestly, that’s brilliant.
So this week I thought, why stop at code? The workplace has its own dictionary too. It is full of phrases that everyone nods at while secretly translating in their heads. Here’s my attempt at decoding some of them.
It’s a quick fix
Prepare your snacks. This will take all afternoon.
We’ll circle back
Also known as: goodbye forever.
In progress
Currently stuck in Stack Overflow tabs and caffeine dependency.
Low priority
We will rediscover this ticket only when the system is on fire.
Let’s refactor later
We both know this means “never.”
Blocked
Waiting for someone else to do their thing while practising the fine art of pretending to look busy.
End of day
Technically midnight, if you really think about it.
Knowledge transfer
One person explains everything at double speed while the other nods and quietly panics.
As discussed
The polite way of saying “we already argued about this and I won.”
Best practices
What we would do if we had unlimited time, unlimited people, and unlimited coffee.
Action item
A task born in a meeting and destined to die there too.
Dev Team Translations
Works on my machine
Translation: this code is haunted.
We just need to add a small feature
Welcome to scope creep. Please enjoy your stay.
Technical debt
The loan sharks of the coding world. They always collect, with interest.
Hotfix
Code written at the speed of light, usually in production, often regretted immediately.
Code review
Where colleagues politely tell you your baby is ugly.
Production
The sacred environment where everything works perfectly, until you touch it.
Closing Thoughts
The workplace dictionary is just as full of hidden meanings as the code one. The words might sound harmless, but once you have lived through a few sprints, you start to hear the truth behind them.
Maybe we should start adding the real-life translations directly into Jira tickets and PR comments. At least then everyone would finally be on the same page.
Top comments (0)