The Pessimist's guide to Engineer-talk.  (what they say - what they mean)
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"That's interesting"    
                - Shit!  I've never seen anything remotely like that before.

"We'll just run diagnostics"    
                - I wonder if that'll give us a clue.

"So we've eliminated XXX"                       
                - It's probably XXX, but it's bloody hard to get at.

"I've just powered it down"                     
                - I tripped over that bloody power cord again

"Ok, that's good"               
                - What the hell was that noise?!?

"We've noticed some failure evidence"           
                - Something's burning...

"If you'll just..."                             
                - I don't want to be the one to blame when it crashes

"Yes, you'd expect to see that..."
                - Hell, that's stuffed as well!

"We'll just fit a revision"                     
                - We'll put the same version in from a different tape.

"A number of different approaches are being tried" 
                - We are still pissing in the wind.

"Extensive report is being prepared on a fresh approach to the problem" 
                - We just hired three kids fresh out of college.

"close project coordination" 
                - We know who to blame.

"Major technological breakthrough" 
                - It works OK, but looks very hi-tech.

"Customer satisfaction is delivered assured" 
                - We are so far behind schedule the customer is happy to get
                  it delivered.

"preliminary operational tests were inconclusive" 
                - The darn thing blew up when we threw the switch.

"Test results were extremely gratifying"  
                - We are so surprised that the stupid thing works.

"The entire concept will have to be abandoned" 
                - The only person who  understood the thing quit.

"It is in the process" 
                - It is so wrapped up in red tape that the situation is about
                  hopeless.

"We will look into it" 
                - Forget it!  We have enough problems for now.

"Please note and initial" 
                - Let's spread the responsibility for the screw up.

"Give us the benefit of your thinking" 
                - We'll listen to what you have to say as long as it doesn't
                  interfere with what we've already done.

"Give us your interpretation" 
                - I can't wait to hear this bull!

"See me" or "Let's discuss" 
                - Come into my office, I'm lonely.

"All new" 
                - Parts not interchangeable with the previous design.

"Rugged" 
                - Too damn heavy to lift!

"Lightweight" 
                - Lighter than RUGGED.

"Years of development" 
                - One finally worked.

"Energy saving" 
                - Achieved when the power switch is off.

"Low maintenance" 
                - Impossible to fix if broken.