There is often a huge chasm between what people SAY and what they MEAN. From a pragmatic viewpoint, I think it is best to not get hung up on word-choice and in

There is often a huge chasm between what people SAY and what they MEAN. From a pragmatic viewpoint, I think it is best to not get hung up on word-choice and instead gain an appreciation of what motivates the managers/co-workers you're interacting with. Geeks have a really hard time with this. I like to think of the scene in film "Annie Hall" where the Woody Allen and Mia Farrow characters have a mundane discussion while on the screen subtitles appear indicating what they're REALLY saying. That's what it is like when you're in the early stages of developing a work relationship with someone.