Boil the Ocean

Definition

Attempting something absurdly ambitious and fundamentally impossible, like trying to get everyone in accounting to agree on lunch. Used to shut down any idea that would require actual effort or imagination.

Example Usage

"We're not trying to boil the ocean here, people," said the manager, immediately before assigning a project that would require boiling at least a Great Lake.

Related Terms

Beginner

customer

The person or entity whose money you desperately want, requiring you to pretend their feedback is valuable and their complaints are reasonable. In corporate speak, they're always right, even when they're spectacularly wrong. Modern businesses have rebranded them as "users," "clients," or "guests" to make the transaction feel less transactional.

💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

Socialize

To share an idea informally before making it official, essentially pre-selling your proposal through hallway conversations and coffee chats. Politics disguised as collaboration.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

outsourcing

The business practice of hiring someone else to do your work, usually overseas and for less money, then acting surprised when quality and communication suffer. It's how companies cut costs while executives explain that layoffs are necessary for competitiveness, right before their bonuses arrive. Originally sold as focusing on "core competencies," it often results in nobody being competent at anything.

💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

convene

The formal way of saying "let's all get together for a meeting," typically used when someone wants to sound official about assembling a group. It's what happens when calling everyone into a conference room needs gravitas, usually for government bodies, boards, or people who love Robert's Rules of Order. Basically, it's corporate speak for "everyone get in here."

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

Win-Win

A negotiation outcome where both sides claim victory, which usually means one side won and the other side is too polite or too confused to realize they lost. The corporate version of a participation trophy.

💼 Corporate / Business

Advanced

glass cliff

The phenomenon where women and minorities are more likely to be promoted to leadership positions during crises when failure is probable, effectively setting them up as scapegoats. The ceiling breaks only when the building is on fire.

💼 Corporate / Business

Translate This Term

See “Boil the Ocean” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

iyswim

if you see what I mean...