- LEAN MEAT is meat with little fat. Eg pork or duck is generally not considered lean meats but kangaroo and chicken are considered to be lean alternatives.
- A LEAN COMPANY has low operating costs and efficient use of resources. You can say “we need to make our processes leaner”, “we need to lay off some staff and make the company leaner” etc. Note: a process is generally referred to being streamlined rather than “lean” if efficient and effective.
- A LEAN PERSON is not skinny, they have little fat but maintain an athletic physique.
- ROUTINE - A routine is like a habit or sequence that doesn't usually vary and is something you need to do. There are daily routines such as having a coffee and reading the paper before going to work and dance routines. Your routine can include taking the kids to school every morning. Something routine isn't unusual and tends to happen regularly and be something you must do during your day or week. Most jobs have routines — things that must be done on a regular basis.
- HABIT. A habit is more personal. You have good or bad habits. Key to a habit rather than a routine is AN INDIVIDUAL CHOICE. Habits are things one chooses to do. You can have the habit of flossing your teeth every day or the bad habit of smoking.
- TRADITION – Traditions are longstanding customs and practices OF A GROUP. It might be a family tradition to open Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, started because your parents were too impatient to wait.
Ostracise (verb) (also alienate) – to be push out of a group or team. Eg once upon a time people were ostracised/alienated for being gay.
Copious – Use copious as a fancy word for an extreme amount of something to the point that it is too much. A copious amount of work is almost too much to handle. If you have a copious amount of bills it is likely you will have trouble paying all of them at once.
Lame - You might describe a limping dog that's lost the use of one of its legs as lame, which means "disabled in a leg or foot”. Lame is probably most often used these days to mean generally weak or pathetic." You can have a lame joke, lame party or if a person is lame they are weak personalities or boring. Even though an animal is lame they cannot walk (a person that cannot work is generally a cripple).
Parochial - If an issue or a matter is parochial, it is trivial or narrow minded. Likewise, a person with a parochial mentality is narrow-minded, or not open to new ideas.
Initiative – initiative means to take control or charge of something (usually to start it). The word includes initial which means first so initiative can be the first step in a series of actions. Initiative can also mean a personal quality that shows a willingness to get things done and take responsibility. Examples, “Stuart has a lot of initiative”. “Use your initiative and just do it”. “when you are hiring staff you really want to get people with initiative.
Assert – to assert means to push or stand up for what you believe in. You might assert an opinion, your power, or even your authority over someone else. To be assertive is not a good quality as it implies you are blunt and unlikely to take on board the opinions of others.
Reciprocal – if something is reciprocal it means the same for both sides. A reciprocal agreement means the same aspects of the agreement apply for both sides. For example, my wife and I have a reciprocal agreement to not yell at each other. You can reciprocate a favour, which means I’ll do you a favour if you do one for me.
Rigid - If something is ridged it is the opposite to flexible – it cannot bend easily. Rigidity and flexibility can be used to describe qualities found in people and objects. For example, a rigid piece of plastic (vs a flexible piece) means it does not bend. Timelines and rules can be ridged and people can be ridged. A ridged person is strict and inflexible in their way of acting or thinking.
