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

midair passenger exchange

Seen on blogs, this is grim air-traffic-controller speak for a head-on collision. Midair passenger exchanges are quickly followed by "aluminum rain".

Controller 1: Man, THAT was a close call!
Controller 2: Yeah - we almost had a midair passenger exchange!

by JRob January 1, 2012

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

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

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

rumint

"rumor intelligence" - iIntelligence information based on rumors rather than facts.

Much of the Bush administration's evidence for Iraq's reconstituted nuclear program, thriving chemical-biological development program, and active Iraqi link with Al Qaeda was based on what intelligence analysts call "rumint."

by JRob October 28, 2005