A lexicon of executive lingo, by Tony Thorne
Abstractor refers to an individual or household who draws off from, or taps into, a supplier's network. The off-puttingly abstract-sounding term is a particular favourite of UK water utilities when castigating the public during what times of drought. Interestingly, the same word already exists with a quite different meaning altogether:
an abstractor is a professional summariser of documents.
In just the same way, a trendy buzzword in media circles — replenisher — describes a member of a younger demographic who, it's hoped, will supplement or replace a dwindling older audience if properly catered to by broadcasters or publishers. This word, too, has at least two older entries in the business dictionary: a replenisher in retail-speak is someone whose job is to replace stock as it leaves the shelves, while in chemical processing it's a device enabling exhausted materials to be flushed out and fresh ones added.
Send buzzwords, jargon and new and exotic usages to tony.thorne@kcl.ac.uk.
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