circle the wagons

Intermediate 💼 Corporate / Business

Definition

Adopting a defensive posture against external threats, inspired by pioneers who probably didn't actually do this but makes corporate defensiveness sound frontier-tough.

Example Usage

After the scandal broke, leadership circled the wagons and stopped returning media calls.

Origin

American Western frontier mythology, adopted as business metaphor in the 20th century

Fun Fact

Historians note that wagon circling was rare in actual frontier travel, but common in Hollywood westerns and corporate crisis management.

Source: Crisis management and defensive strategy terminology

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Coworker Music

The audio wallpaper of corporate America—mainstream, impossibly inoffensive tracks that soundtrack your soul-crushing 9-to-5. Think Maroon 5, Imagine Dragons, and every song that's ever played in a Target. It's the musical equivalent of beige walls: designed to exist in the background while offending absolutely no one, serving as conversational filler for colleagues who've run out of weather-related small talk.

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