jrob's definitions

grandiloquent

gran-DIL-uh-kwuhnt, adjective:
Lofty in style; pompous; bombastic. Full of fine words and fancy expressions - marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases.

He became more than usually grandiloquent as if to make up for the years of silence with words of gold.

by JRob July 26, 2006

piss-off factor

An object's component or quality that has the potential to annoy or anger a person viewing or using the object.

Web browser pop-up ads tend to have a very high piss-off factor.

by JRob November 18, 2005

Po-tay-to po-tah-to

Taken from the Louis Armstrong Lyrics to "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off":
"You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto, Let's call the whole thing off."
Used by somebody comparing two things that are essentially interchangeable or two words for the same thing.

Republicans - Right-wing crooks. Po-tay-to po-tah-to.

by JRob August 8, 2005

hotelling

An office setup in which mobile workers do not have permanent desks or cubicles and so must reserve a workspace when they come into the office.

Consultant #1: I spend so much time at customer sites that I don't need an office.

Consultant #2: Welcome to the Wild World of Hotelling!

by JRob October 26, 2005

zero drag

highly motivated employee who has few personal responsibilities and so can work long hours, travel frequently, or be called in to work with little notice.

The ideal zero drag employee is young, unmarried and childless with no responsibilities and an eagerness to do well.

by JRob October 28, 2005

dread merchant

A person who makes a living by predicting disasters and worst-case scenarios.

Guy1: What's the news, man?

Guy2: Bird Flu, terrorists, hurricanes, global warming, the price of gasoline and natural gas and electricity skyrocketing, death toll in Iraq . . .

Guy1: Boy, the dread merchants are busy lately!

by JRob November 7, 2005

ransom factor

The tendency for one party in a civil case to settle out of court to avoid the potentially high cost of fighting the case.

Newspaper publishers, when faced with a potential libel case, often try to settle out of court by paying a ransom factor rather than take their chances with a jury trial.

by JRob November 3, 2005