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Permanent link for this word: eyeservice


A.Word.A.Day--eyeservice

Pronunciation Sound Clip RealAudio

This week's theme: miscellaneous words.

eyeservice (EYE-sur-vis) noun

Work done only when the employer is present.

[Referring to the service performed only when the employer is watching.]

What should you call the opposite of eyeservice? How about webservice: web surfing performed while the employer is away?

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"The owner felt assured [the excuses] were false -- all going to show habitual carelessness, indolence, and mere eyeservice." Frederick L. Olmsted; A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States; 1856.

X-Bonus

They know enough who know how to learn. -Henry Adams (1838-1918)

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