Saturday, January 28, 2006

Very Faint Praise

Several years ago, Lehigh University professor Robert J. Thorton developed the Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous Recommendations (LIAR). Some samples:
  • "In my opinion, you will be very fortunate to get this person to work for you."
  • "I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever."
  • "No person would be better for the job."
  • "I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment."
  • "I cannot say enough to honestly recommend this person for employment."

Hmm. I think I'll reread some of my letters of recommendation this weekend.

1 comment:

The Continental Op said...

Thank you for posting this valuable resource. Next time a mediocre student asks for a recommendation, I'll try one of these.