let's take this offline

this was used in last week's meeting. the big boss told simmons to basically shut up. he kept talking back, trying to win the conversation and they went back and forth for about a couple of minutes. probably, a couple of minutes too long! so big boss abruptly ended it with, "let's take this offline."

when the big boss said offline, that made me think of about how people use computer terms instead of normal english.

offline? are we connected to the matrix? to the borg collective? how did this jargon come about?

googled, "let's take this offline" and the fourth item brought me to the microsoft lexicon gp. this site basically explained term.

it reads... offline: outside the confines of a mass meeting, so as not to take up the time of attendees not directly concerned with an issue. example, "let's take this conversation offline." a synonym for "in private" or "confidentiality".

the last part of the definition was the best.

"often used as a semi-polite way of saying, 'shut up about that, you impolitic idiot.'"

that was the best part of last week's meeting.