Calling a spade a... digger

Why are kids so good at naming things (milk-horse = cow), and grown-ups so bad at it (important information = the lawyers made me include it, but I’ll bury it as much as I can)?

Generally speaking, kids don’t have a wide vocabulary but somehow nail the intent. Here's a sample of some favourites I've come across.

• Sand-horse: camel
• Milk-horse: cow
• Horse-horse: horse (of course)
• Battle-unicorn: rhino
• Hand-socks: gloves
• Water-rocks: ice cubes
• Bird-leaves: feathers
• Long-shorts: pants

As grown-ups, however, we become experts at double-speak – obscuring, disguising or even reversing the meaning of words.

• Client services: where the focus is often not on clients or service, but rather keeping call duration and costs down.
• Important information: the small-print that nobody will read.
• Customer success manager: a new favourite for large corporates, the title often means someone you’ll never hear from until your annual invoice is due.

Next time you're in a meeting or typing away at your computer, consider rewording some of your corporate jargon to really hone in on the intent. Imagine the impact this could have! I'll drink to that (and please throw in a couple of ice-rocks, thanks).