So the other day I heard someone complain about an unintelligible instruction given to junior workers in her organisation. This message had, it seems, “cascaded” from the company’s directors.

There should have been more synergy, she said, but if you ask me the real problem in this situation is that deceptively pretty word “cascade”.

As an example of obfuscating workspeak, cascade is not the newest villain, nor is it even the most annoying. ..