Worst corporate jargon of the week: COP
Offender: (Can you get that to me by) COP?
What does it mean?
Close of play. What that means is another matter entirely.
Used in an email: Can you get that to me by COP?
Who uses it?
The origins of this linguistic blip can be traced back to the gilet-wearing squadron who live and die by the stock market, so much so they’ve entered a new time zone. GMT? Think again. This syndicate sets their clocks by the LSE.
However, more recently the term has spread to be used freely across the whole of corporatopia in a trend that is sparking concern. While COP was once assumed, with relative confidence, to mean 4:30pm, it’s anyone’s guess what it means now.
Should we be worried?
Undoubtedly. The acronym is so superfluous it can be used interchangeably with COB (close of business), EOP (end of play), EOD (end of day), and EOB (end of business), all of which refer to an ambiguous moment in time, usually in the evening.
Don’t miss that undefined deadline though; offenders don’t have enough time to use full words, but they use the ambiguity to their advantage, often sending harried emails at 6.32pm LSE time apologising and pushing the next deadline to COP tomorrow.
On a linguistic level the term is also dangerous. It talks of play when meaning work; pure doublespeak. It must be stamped out; this is not a game show, and we’re not playing.
What could it be confused with?
- The annual global environmental summit
- The old bill
- Any time between 4:30pm and midnight
How do we get rid of it?
A universal means for determining the time – the clock – has existed now for at least 800 years. We suggest you use it.
Corporate ick rating:
There’s really no need. But as an offender it’s less toe-curlingly obnoxious than others, so for that we’ll allow it a 7/10.
Do you use it? Do you have a worse offender? Are your colleagues guilty of corporate icks? Email us at [email protected]