Everyday Office Jargon · Associate level

"Throw a curveball"

"Throw a curveball" means to introduce an unexpected complication or surprise that makes something harder to handle.

Say this instead: surprise

How "Throw a curveball" shows up at work

Used after the fact, almost always in a post-mortem or a status update, to describe whatever went wrong without assigning blame to any person. The curveball is always thrown by the situation, never by a colleague.

Buzzword

The vendor threw a curveball by changing the pricing structure two days before launch.

Plain English

The vendor surprised us by changing the pricing structure two days before launch.

Corporate Rank: Associate  ·  Category: Everyday Office Jargon

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