9 phrases only MBAs understand

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9 phrases only MBAs understand

Harvard Business School commencement

Harvard Business School/Facebook

They've got their own lingo.

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Every industry has its own lingo. Business-school jargon may be especially perplexing to outsiders.

To help clear up some of the confusion, we asked two MBA grads about the most unusual terms and phrases they picked up in business school.

Paul Ollinger graduated from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in 1997 and was an early Facebook employee before becoming a standup comedian. He recently published a comedic career guide titled, "You Should Totally Get an MBA," which includes a glossary of "MBA Talk."

Alex Dea graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2015 and is now a product marketing manager at Salesforce. He also runs the blog MBASchooled, which is a resource for business school students, applicants, and alumni.

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Read on to find out what MBAs really mean when they call you a "Herbie."