Annals of Business English

Though its usage isn't new at my workplace, lately I've been more and more annoyed by the constant deployment of the noun "piece" in all kinds of contexts where it ought not exist or where far better alternatives already exist. You know, actually descriptive nouns. In brief, "piece" is the new "thing." Viz.,

1. "Exceeding our customer's expectations is a really important piece."
2. "I am needing to know if the piece about the numbers is ready."
3. "We're about to turn the corner on the knowledge piece; we just have to get it out of our silos."

Trying to prevent myself from audibly retching every time someone uses "piece" like this, I've started mentally appending "of ass" to each use of "piece." Try it in the examples above. It's nonsensical, Dadaist fun, like one of those fortune-cookie-improvement games, only you do it silently in a meeting with people you'd prefer not to see again, not aloud with overfed friends at Peking Garden.