BUZZWORD COMPLIANT DICTIONARY
B

BAU: Even old standbys can become acronyms. This one is the much bandied about corporate term for "business as usual."
Nominated by Leslie Nelson

b2b space: See "space."

B2A: Business-to-anybody. A business concept born of desperation.

B2B: Business-to-business was too traditional sounding. B-to-b was too clunky. But B2B is way-cool and much easier to work into headlines and ads.

B2B2C: The abbreviation insanity continues. Now we have Business to Business to Consumer.
Nominated by Jim Cook

B2C: The consumer version of B2B.

B2E: Business-to-everybody. Sounds a bit greedy, doesn’t it?

B2G: You guessed it: Business-to-Government. With the government being the largest employer in the U.S., it's BIG business.
Nominated by Maria Dittrich

baby bump: Term used steadily on "ET" and celebrity talk shows to describe pregnant women (celebrities) when they start to show. "It's amazing how well she's hiding her baby bump."
Nominated by Blaine Crandell

backbone provider: A company that provides Internet access to Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Official name: Network Service Providers (NSPs).

back-sourcing: When outsourcers fail to deliver quality, service or cost effectiveness, companies will bring the job back in-house. As in: "It's time to back-source this one, because we've lost control of what we're doing."
Nominated by Randall Becker

bad cosmetics: Another favorite at Enron. Any action or practice that would reflect badly on the company. Enron memos noted that there was great concern about "bad cosmetics being aired publicly," particularly in the Wall Street Journal. Outside the corporate world, it's known as "dirty laundry" or "dirty linen."
Nominated by Billy McCormac

BAFO: Business acronym for Best And Final Offer.
Nominated by Scott Haddon

baked in: Corporate-speak for "included." "The shipping costs are already baked into the list price."
Nominated by Mike Whitaker

bake-off: Contest where competing vendors submit their products for head-to-head performance tests in hopes of winning the customer's business. "We had 7 vendors in the bake-off."
Nominated by Tanya Katz

bandwidth (technical): It was a huge issue in the late 1990s, but seemingly forgotten now that people can get cable modems and DSL.

bandwidth (as applied to people): Technology truly has permeated our lives when we start applying tech terms to people. So, what’s your personal bandwidth like? Expect to hear it from your boss soon. It means: How much extra time do you have to take on new projects?
Nominated by Jill Whalen

barcode rape: When trade show "booth bunnies" grab you by the name tag and swipe the barcode (to earn a commission) before even talking to you about the products or services they offer.
Nominated by Jennifer Willsey

Barneyware: The purple dinosaur may have faded from the scene, but his legacy lives on. Barneyware is anything that has little or no substance. Example: A joint press release by two companies that have nothing new to announce, but in order to generate media attention declare their mutual admiration for each other. In effect, the release says nothing more than "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family."
Nominated by Dave Jilk

barn raising: Borrowed from a simpler time, it means to solve a difficult problem by pulling staff and resources from the four corners of the company to develop a solution. "We'll need to do a little barn raising to solve this one." The term IS more palatable than "multi-functional task force."

barrybonds: Financial instruments that have an impressive growth rate -- but also a high risk factor.
Nominated by Edward Bania

b-blog: A Web log created to share serious business insights and information, not just personal, inane rantings.

BDN: A Big Damn Number. Frequently used by sales and marketing types to emphasize value. For example, a $5,000-a-month savings isn’t nearly as impressive as the annual BDN -- $60,000.
Nominated by Craig Ogan

Bear Market Depressive Syndrome (BMDS): Now's  there's a medical term for the overwhelming sense of inadequacy, shame and regret you feel whenever the stock market takes a dip. Coined by Dr. John W. Schott, an author, practicing psychiatrist and portfolio manager for Steinberg Global Asset Management. (No joke!)
Nominated by Billy McCormac

bee break: Sneaking off to the bathroom in the middle of dinner to check e-mail on your BlackBerry, PDA, etc.

beer googles: Searching the ’Net while intoxicated
Nominated by Tony Phipps

beggarware: Any free software, generally downloaded from the Internet, where the author "begs" for a donation to help support continued development.
Nominated by John Merritt

Below Zeros: This is a marketing term, not a temperature. They’re customers who cost more to serve than they return in value. Example: A customer who ties up a salesperson for 45 minutes while trying on 14 pairs of Gucci shoes, then buys a six-pack of tube socks for $1.98, complains about the price and walks out. Also known as BZs.

bench: It’s clear that business is still dominated by men. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many testosterone-driven sports terms masquerading as business phrases. "We’ve got bench," the salesman assures the customer who wants to know if the company can deliver as promised. "We need bench," complains the manager whose department has been running two down for the past six months. In other places, "bench" is the justification for an excessive number of excessively-paid executives sitting in gargantuan offices.
Nominated by Geri Modell

best of breed: One of the top honors at Westminster, but in the tech world it’s supposedly the top software or hardware in its class.
Nominated by Craig Ogan

best practices: A term bandied about in business management circles and describes business tactics (and strategies) used in successful companies. The term, however, can be misleading. While "best practices" seems to imply success, they may have nothing to do with the actual success of the company.
Nominated by Jim Cook

betamaxed: It's what happens when the "best" technology loses out to lesser technology in the marketplace. Coined during the VCR wars when VHS became the standard over the "superior" Betamax format. Since then the process has been perfected by Microsoft's marketing department.

bettys: Once a name for the girls (perfectly oiled and wearing string bikinis) who waited on the sand while their boyfriends rode the waves. The new bettys are now the ones hanging ten (and the guys are beginning to watch, thanks to the movie "Blue Crush."
Nominated by Mark Worden

BFO: Blinding Flash of the Obvious. "Jack is having another one of his BFO moments."
Nominated by Anna Sterling

BHNC: Big Hat, No Cattle. Another way of saying "all talk, no action."
Nominated by Patricia Bonnstetter

BHAGs: Big Hairy Audacious Goals. A BHAG gets people's creative and competitive juices flowing. Coined by authors James Collins and Jerry Porras, but now a favorite of pricey consultants.
Nominated by Greg Foltz

bio break: Meeting-speak for "bathroom break." "Let's take a short bio break before moving on to action plans." Of course, coffee is served during such breaks at business conferences, resulting in the need for more bio breaks.
Nominated by Derek Moyer

biocolonialism: The taking of knowledge and biological resources from an indigenous people without compensation. Frequently practiced by drug companies, which have discovered that some medical remedies of "primitive" tribes are far more effective (and profitable) than those produced by modern science. Also known as biopiracy.
Nominated by Janet LoFurno

BIRGing: Sports psychology term to describe how fans boost their own self esteem by Basking In Reflected Glory of their favorite team. It's what makes fans paint their faces in team colors, secretly listen to games during work, and spend a small fortune buying team logo-laden apparel and goofy-looking bobbleheads.
Nominated by Mark Worden

bitching post: Any place or medium (such as a newspaper, radio talk show, blog or chat room) where people can rant, complain or blow off steam.
Nominated by Judy Whitman

bi-tonal (1): For those of you who haven't figured it out, the bi-tonal menu choice on your fancy, super-duper copiers, printers and scanners means black and white.
Nominated by Michael Troiano

bi-tonal (2): Describes old style managers. A person who only see it two ways -- his way or the highway. Also, a manager who sees things as right or wrong and leaves no room for discussion.
Nominated by Brown Brooks

blab slab: A tricked-out cell phone loaded with all the extras. Often shortened to just “slab.”
Nominated by Mesila Thraam and others

black-collar workers: Once a term for miners and oil workers, today it more often refers to creative types (artists, graphic designers, video producers) who’ve made black attire their unofficial uniform.
Nominated by Laurel Sutton

blahger: A blogger whose message primarily consists of blah-blah-blah.

blaired: To have one's work stolen or copied. Refers to former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair's penchant for stealing the work of other journalists.
Nominated by Olivier Stephenson

blalker: Someone who uses a blog to stalk or hound another individual.
Nominated by Mark Worden

blamestorming: A group process where participants analyze a failed project and look for scapegoats other than themselves.
Nominated by Sheri Kiddy

bleeding edge: You knew there had to be something beyond the cutting edge. Well, this is it. It’s technology so new even its inventors aren’t completely sure what it is or where it’s headed. Of course, some make it. Others just bleed.
Nominated by Rose Smith

bleg: To use one's blog to beg for assistance (usually for information, but occasionally for money). One who does so is a "blegger."
Nominated by Mark Worden

bling-bling: Flashy jewelry, watches, etc. A fashion staple of the hip-hop culture.
Nominated by Joeth Barlas

blix: To look without seeing. A reference to Dr. Hans Blix, the U.N.'s chief weapon's inspector. "They blixed the area and didn't spot a single violation."
Nominated by Alan Skolnick

bloated syntax: Anything that's overwritten -- often padded with unnecessary adjectives or laden with hyperbole. Also appropriately known as "BS."
Nominated by Michael Troiano

bloatware: Software that has more features, buttons and capability than you'll ever need -- thanks to faster computer chips, cheap memory and big hard drives. It eats up storage space on your drive and hogs memory in order to run. The result of bad or simply lazy design.

blocking and tackling: The basics or fundamentals. Another example of business folks (particularly men) using sports terms and analogies (football in this case) to make themselves clear -- even though the message is missed by those who don't follow sports (often women). "First we need to get back to blocking and tackling, then we can discuss advanced strategies and techniques."
Nominated by Hal Dunn

blogger: Bloggers have become the media’s new darlings, but in BuzzWhack’s view marketing guru Guy Kawasaki’s definition rings truer than ever: Someone with nothing to say writing for someone with nothing to do.

blogives: Web log archives. (Somewhere in the million blogs that fill cyberspace, there must be something worth saving for posterity.)
Nominated by Ginger Mayerson, www.gingermayerson.com

Bluetooth: Bluetooth wireless technology has become the de facto standard for the wireless industry. Bluetooth allows a wide range of appliances to eliminate the use of cables and replaces them with wireless connections that use low-frequency radio signals. The technology is royalty-free. Bluetooth, which is a registered trademark, is named after the Danish king Harald Blåtand (Bluetooth), who unified Denmark and Norway. Originally Bluetooth wireless technology was aimed at unifying the telecom and computing industries.
Nominated by Sundaram Chandrasekaran

Bluetooth fairy: Someone who spends his or her day with the blinking glow of a Bluetooth headset plugged into one ear. Bluetooth Fairy T-shirt available

BMWs: Bitchers, Moaners and Whiners. "We'd get a lot more accomplished if we didn't have so many BMWs working here."

bobbleheading: The mass nod of agreement by participants in a  meeting to comments made by the boss even though most have no idea what he just said.
Nominated by Kris Shepherd

BOBFOC: Body Off Baywatch, Face Off Crimewatch.
Nominated by Kevin Dougherty

bobos: Short for Bourgeois Bohemians, a confounding mingle of 1960s rebellion with 1980s ambition. Coined by author David Brooks. Bobos drink coffee because it stimulates mental acuity, but shun booze because it dulls the senses. They will go to the beach in the skimpiest of bathing suits, but are astonished if you neglect to put on sunblock to prevent cancer. And driving your SUV without a seatbelt is positively immoral.
Nominated by Janet LoFurno

BOGOFF: Sounds like an insult, but it’s simply a marketing gimmick used to boost sales volume or in some cases to get consumers to try a product because it’s such a great deal. Translation: Buy One Get One For Free.
Nominated by Shaun Bartlett

bohica: An acronym muttered by the people who do the real work when senior managers announce their latest and greatest sales/customer service/quality initiative. It's more polite than Bend Over, Here It Comes Again.
Nominated by Brenda Wakeman

boiling the ocean: The result of working hard without focus or purpose. "All she's doing is boiling the ocean." Also known as "spinning your wheels" and "running in place."
Nominated by Andrew Collins

bolt-on acquisition: Describes a product or company acquisition that fits naturally with the buyer's existing business lines or strategy.
Nominated by Barbara Wilson

Boolean Approach: A decision-making process favored by business execs in which the answer is either "yes" OR "no." Also known as a "digital decision."
Nominated by Ian Scorrer

borking: To vilify or defame someone. Originally coined after Robert Bork's U.S. Supreme Court nomination was torpedoed in 1987 and refers to opposition to a judicial nominee for purely political reasons. Today borking has morphed to include anyone who gets trashed in the media.
Nominated by Mark Worden

born digital: Documents (books, manuscripts, reports,etc.) not published on paper. They are created on a computer and distributed electronically.
Nominated by Michael Troiano

botchulism: Quick-fix solutions or business practices that turn toxic. "Arthur Andersen had a bad case of botchulism. It crippled the company and killed my 401k."
Nominated by Edward Bania

boundarylessness: A management philosophy, perfected at General Electric under Jack Welch, that basically means "good ideas can come from anywhere."
Nominated by Michelle Porter

bracket envy: The emotion that results when your last team in the Final Four is eliminated while your colleague across the aisle still has three teams remaining.
Nominated by Thomas Lampros

bracket fatigue: The tired and tattered remains of the typical NCAA basketball office pool bracket after two rounds.
Nominated by James Gould

bragability: The right to brag based on accomplishments. “Having competed in the Ironman has a high bragability factor.”
Nominated by Brittani Mauldin

brandalism: It’s the "defacing" of schools, libraries and other public spaces with company logos, advertisements and corporate slogans. Remember when buildings were named after people we admired?

brandroid: Someone (usually a marketer) who relentlessly trumpets the brand and pushes for all decisions to be aligned with the company's "brand essence."
Nominated by Max Dieterle

brandstorming: This term's been around a few years, but popped up recently when Andersen Consulting conducted a company-wide "BrandStorming" contest to come up with a new name for the company. It generally means the process of brainstorming a new branding strategy.

brick and mortar: When the dot-coms were flying high, it was a derisive term used to describe traditional businesses that actually had buildings, manufacturing plants, customer service centers, distribution facilities and – oh yeah -- real profits.

brown bag session: A meeting scheduled during lunch hour in which the employee not only has to work but must bring his or her own lunch.
Nominated by Iain McCarthy

BSOD: Better known as the Blue Screen of Death. If you used the old versions of  Microsoft Windows, you’ve probably met the BSOD. It’s what happened when Windows didn’t like something you’d just done, so it freaked out and gave you a bright blue screen and instructions on what to do. If you were lucky, those instructions ended with the words "To continue, hit any key."
Nominated by Mel Carter

BTA: Used both to mark the time before September 11, 2001 and how views have changed since. Something that is "BTA" would be considered naïve and self-centered, and reflect attitudes held "before the attacks."
Nominated by Mark Hampton

bubble up: The act of letting an idea or issue rise up the organization chart to a superior. "The best ideas are the ones that bubble up from front line employees."
Nominated by Michael Richardson

buck-rake: To hold a political fund-raiser. "He skipped the debate in order to buck-rake for his campaign."
Nominated by Max Matthews

budget dust: Year-end money that must be spent before it is swept away by the cold winds of a new fiscal year.
Nominated by Charles Mitchell

budget flush: The "use it or lose it" spending spree that occurs near the end of the fourth quarter. The last-minute draining of the budget is such a common practice by IT departments that Wall Street analysts factor it into their technology stock projections.
Nominated by Erik Bergman

budgetunity: An "opportunity" for innovative budgeting. Used to put a positive spin on Michigan's budget crisis several years back. "The shortfall in revenue has given the governor a budgetunity."
Nominated by Judith Plantz

bud rip: The distinctive motion when someone listening to a MP3 player yanks down on the cord attached to the ear buds, quickly removing them from the ears and to catch what someone nearby is saying.
Nominated by Terry Porter

bulletize: To highlight supposedly key information using bullet points. "To help explain my idea, I've bulletized the main points on the next slide..." Often used by people who can't explain themselves in complete sentences.
Nominated by Charles Mitchell

BUM: Interestingly, there are plenty of "business unit managers" in the corporate world, but the only folks who use the acronym are their employees. Hmmmm.

BuzzWhack splat: What happens when you brag to your friends that you've sent a submission to BuzzWhack and it doesn't make it through the selection process. (Thanks, Bob, for giving it a name.)
Nominated by Bob Peterson