cover your ass (CYA)

Definition

The art of documenting everything and copying fifteen people on emails to ensure someone else takes the blame when things go sideways. Self-preservation disguised as thoroughness.

Example Usage

I'm CCing everyone on this email as a CYA move—when this project implodes, my paper trail is impeccable.

Origin

Military slang from at least the 1950s, migrated to corporate culture

Fun Fact

The rise of email increased CYA behavior by an estimated 300%, leading to inbox overload as everyone protects themselves simultaneously.

Source: Common workplace and military slang

Related Terms

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fire drill

An urgent, chaotic scramble to address something that's suddenly a priority, despite being predictable weeks ago. Manufactured urgency masquerading as crisis management.

💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

proliferation

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💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

Value Proposition

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💼 Corporate / Business📣 Marketing / Advertising

Advanced

delimitation

The act of drawing boundaries or limits around something, whether it's a research scope, territorial borders, or the precise extent of your responsibilities before they become someone else's problem. In academia and business, it's how you politely tell stakeholders 'this is what we're doing, and everything else is out of scope.' Think of it as the corporate version of building a fence, but with more documentation and fewer property disputes.

💼 Corporate / Business

Intermediate

stranglehold

That crushing level of market dominance or control where competitors can barely breathe, let alone compete. It's the business world's version of a chokehold—legal, ruthless, and highly effective at maintaining power. When one company has a stranglehold on an industry, innovation goes to die and consumers learn to love whatever they're given.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

designation

The official act of slapping a label, title, or purpose onto something or someone, because nothing is real until it has proper paperwork. This formal appointment process turns regular employees into "Senior Vice Presidents" and empty land into "Protected Wildlife Habitats." It's essentially bureaucracy's way of making everything official through the sacred ritual of naming things.

💼 Corporate / Business

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