A guideline for business conduct that suggests avoiding any actions or written statement that would not be comfortable appearing on the front page of the New York Times. The reasoning behind the rule is that if something would be embarrassing or harmful if made public, it is probably best avoided altogether.
Example: At the new hire training, the company advised employees to follow the New York Times rule when writing emails to avoid issues if an email was read by a person who was not the intended recipient.
Variations: NYT rule, WSJ rule, Wall Street Journal rule
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Question: What does "Calendar Invite" mean?
(A) When a person wants to meet with you next week.
(B) An email sent to schedule a meeting with the option to either accept or decline the meeting at the scheduled time.
(C) When a person has available time on their calendar to meet with you.
(D) When a person does not have any time to meet with you.
Answer: Find out the right answer here.
Jargonism is a Business English dictionary. You can learn about words and phrases that are commonly used in the workplace like Circle Back, Thought Leader, and Offsite. We also have a Word of the Day, which is a daily Business English vocabulary word that is commonly used in the workplace.
On this site, we also have templates on how to communicate effectively at work, such as requesting PTO, declining a promotion, and taking a sick day.
Date: 04/19/2025
Word: Close It Out
Definition: To mark something as completed.
Example: This task has been fixed, so let's close it out within the task tracker.
"New York Times Rule." Jargonism.com Dictionary, https://jargonism.com/words/1617. Accessed 04/19/2025.