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fluffy

English translation: of little substance

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:fluffy
Selected answer:of little substance
Entered by: Mohamed A. Moustafa

17:15 Aug 10, 2010
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Management
English term or phrase: fluffy
Some [employers] see it [employee engagement] as being a bit too “HR and fluffy”, or struggle to practically apply it in their organisation.
Mohamed A. Moustafa
United States
of little substance
Explanation:
"Fluffy" here means something like cotton candy (AKA spun sugar). It's something sweet and soft, but without substance. Some employers see employee engagement as a nice-sounding but impractical concept, something unnecessary in the real world of hard-nosed business practice.

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Note added at 2 days1 hr (2010-08-12 18:53:25 GMT) Post-grading
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You're very welcome; glad I could help.
Selected response from:

JaneTranslates
Puerto Rico
Local time: 07:46
Grading comment
Thanks a lot for the plausible and detailed answer.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +7of little substance
JaneTranslates
4 +1hard to define
Sandra & Kenneth Grossman


  

Answers


23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
hard to define


Explanation:
Unlike other management practices, which have clear indicators and metrics.

Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
Israel
Local time: 14:46
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RomanianRomanian
Notes to answerer
Asker: Many thanks for your time and effort.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): Yes, that too.
40 mins
  -> Thanks!
neutral  JaneTranslates: I'm sure that's part of the equation, but I would include this aspect under "struggle to practically apply it"; I'm not sure it is implicit in "fluffy."
2 hrs
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
of little substance


Explanation:
"Fluffy" here means something like cotton candy (AKA spun sugar). It's something sweet and soft, but without substance. Some employers see employee engagement as a nice-sounding but impractical concept, something unnecessary in the real world of hard-nosed business practice.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days1 hr (2010-08-12 18:53:25 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

You're very welcome; glad I could help.

JaneTranslates
Puerto Rico
Local time: 07:46
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks a lot for the plausible and detailed answer.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
55 mins
  -> Thank you, Tina.
agree  British Diana: yes, it is akin to the common meaning "trivial or superficial"//You are right, especially when applied to a (female) person ("fluffy gangster's moll"), but this is not implied here!
1 hr
  -> Thanks, British Diana. Both "trivial" and "superficial" can be covered by the phrase "a bit of fluff."//Very true, Diana! I should have added an LOL or ! to make it clear that my comment was...well...trivial and superficial!
agree  Sheila Wilson
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Sheila.
agree  Joyce A
7 hrs
  -> Thank you, Joyce.
agree  eski: Close enough for me: saludos, Jane! eski
12 hrs
  -> Many thanks, eski in Acapulco.
agree  Craig Meulen
14 hrs
  -> Thank you, Craig.
agree  Rolf Keiser
21 hrs
  -> Thank you, Goldcoaster.
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