feedback sandwich
n.— «This is an especially tough one because they’re trying to be honest and tell it like it is. “When using this route as a dumper, provide them with what I call a “feedback sandwich” (positive-negative-positive). Don’t just rattle off all the negative things to justify your decision.”» —“Break-up etiquette” by Rob Kalesse News Journal (Wilmington, Del.) Feb. 8, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Melissa in Greensboro, North Carolina, has been sparring with the Gen Z members of her family over the shifting meanings of words. Her kids use aesthetic as an adjective to mean “aesthetically pleasing,” as in That’s so aesthetic. They also refer to...
A listener remembers her grandmother’s colorful comment when someone arrived late after getting lost: You went around your elbow to get to your thumb. Lots of similar sayings in English suggest roundabout routes or overcomplicated tasks, including...