English Language & Usage Asked by the_velour_fog on February 25, 2021
I’m thinking of something like ceremony or ritual – but without the implication of significance.
More like a large collection of tasks in an everyday context like a meeting or a series of medical procedures, say prior to surgery.
I’m thinking of a word that’s not necessarily formal, or that the tasks have to be rigidly adhered to in a specific order. It could just be a large number of a tasks say, a shopkeeper may have to do prior to opening a store say.
An example sentence may be say, the chairperson of a meeting saying:
Please people, we need to keep moving if we want to complete the __________ of this meeting
The closest things I can think of are
Perhaps you would like rigmarole. From Cambridge Dictionaries:
a long, complicated, or silly process
You have to go through this whole rigmarole before you can register for a course.
It is also sometimes spelled rigamarole (this is closer to my own pronunciation); Merriam-Webster defines both as
2 : a complex and sometimes ritualistic procedure
While it can be used for purely necessary procedures when they are sufficiently complex, it still carries a definitely pejorative connotation and seems to most often be used for procedures that the speaker considers somehow unnecessary or ridiculous. I think it would work well for your example:
Please people, we need to keep moving if we want to complete the rig(a)marole of this meeting.
An example of a similar usage found on the world-wide web:
If you feel that the meeting has become a boring rigmarole that you have to go through each week or month, take a look at these tips for injecting energy and effectiveness into the time you spend with your team. ("Top tips for running the most effective facilities meeting possible", Catch22, Jan. 24, 2018)
Correct answer by 1006a on February 25, 2021
You might consider drudgery for this.
It's not an exact fit, but it has the right connotation, given its meaning:
From Oxford:
drudgery
noun [mass noun]Hard menial or dull work.
It is possible for work to be hard and/or dull due to its length and not its actual difficulty. Therefore, a meeting could be a drudgery, or the contents of it can be a drudgery, if the meeting draws out long. The word fits in your sentence as well:
Please people, we need to keep moving if we want to complete the drudgery of this meeting.
Answered by psosuna on February 25, 2021
I would call those tasks functions. (Wiktionary) (Merriam-Webster)
The singular "function" being:
A relation where one thing is dependent on another for its existence, value, or significance.
and
Any of a group of related actions contributing to a larger action.
Answered by NaviSaysListen on February 25, 2021
Objectives. Or Details. Or both 'detailed objectives'.
'Objectives' means 'all the tasks that have been identified, that need to be done'. And it also means 'the desired results'.
This term is commonly used in business to mean 'all the many and various detailed little things that have to be done' such as filing reports, doing admin, completing procedures, designing something new etc. - it can mean literally anything 'that you are trying to do'.
And in a larger context 'the main objectives' are the bigger goals that are to be achieved - that the 'detailed objectives'- ideally - support. They are 'the object' of the goal - what one is aiming for.
'Details' is another word you could use, that means 'all the complicated little bits and pieces'. All the 'little parts of the whole ' - the whole being the 'main objective'.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detail
The good thing about using 'objectives' in the examples you give, is that 'objectives' is a word that intrinsically focuses on 'the goal' - the 'object' - of what is to be achieved - as well as encompassing the meaning of 'all the little details that have to be done':
...means 'the details' and 'the main goal' or goals.
In that way, when you use the word 'objectives' you are also telling people to 'focus on the goal' which is good, because sometimes the focus on the goal is forgotten as people get lost in 'all the little things that (might!) have to be done' - and forget about the main goal.
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/objective.html
Example of 'objectives' in a different context - learning https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/learningobjectives.html
Examples:
we want to keep moving, to complete the objectives of this meeting
to complete an operation, many objectives must be completed including induction, preparation, the procedure, and close. Within each category are many more detailed objectives that must be completed for each phase to be a success.
you need to complete these 500 or so objectives to open your store. We suggest you break the objectives into 3 sets of achievable 'objective chunks' like this...
The main objective is to open your store. Here's a list of 500 detailed objectives, to achieve that.
If you really want the procedure to be 'long and drawn out' then I would not use 'objectives'. I would use 'administration' or a word that focuses less on 'the actual goal' - and more on 'all the little details that have to be done.
Answered by Jelila on February 25, 2021
Answered by Bread on February 25, 2021
A routine describes
A set of customary or unchanging and often mechanically performed activities or procedures: a routine of housekeeping
So your sentence would be:
Please people, we need to keep moving if we want to complete the routine of this meeting.
If it's an especially laborious process, you can describe it as a grind:
Please people, we need to keep moving if we want to complete the grind of this meeting.
Answered by Gnawme on February 25, 2021
Agonising procedure or process
You can say 'agonising procedure' or 'agonising process' for something long drawn out and... unbearable, or the 'agonising' can mean 'poring over the little details endlessly'.
Agonising is 'causing great physical or mental pain'. It also carries the meaning 'not being able to choose' - 'agonising' can be used alone to mean 'poring over one's choices'.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/agonizing
Example:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/agonising-process-identifying-grenfell-tower-10634517
Note, agonising is English, agonizing is American spelling.
Answered by Jelila on February 25, 2021
Folderol:
Unnecessary actions or words that have little meaning and make something seem more important or complicated than it really is: Unanimous consent simply means the bill passes without all the usual Senate procedural folderol. The first act of the play is full of fussy folderol; the second moves much faster and smoother. Cambridge.org
Answered by Conrado on February 25, 2021
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