Everyday Office Jargon · Unranked level

"Peel back the onion"

"Peel back the onion" means to examine something layer by layer to understand what is really happening beneath the surface.

Say this instead: examine in layers

How "Peel back the onion" shows up at work

Consultants and analysts say this when a problem turns out to be more complicated than the brief suggested. The phrase does the work of signaling thoroughness before any actual analysis begins.

Buzzword

Before we make a decision, we really need to peel back the onion on the data.

Plain English

Before we decide, we need to examine the data in layers.

Corporate Rank: Unranked · Category: Everyday Office Jargon

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