🌾 Farming It Out: A Deep Dive into Outsourcing and Contracting 📞
Definition:
To farm out: To assign to an outsider; to subcontract. Originally meant to lease land in the mid-1600s but has come to mean subcontracting, often replaced by ‘outsource’ since the 1900s.
Related Terms:
- Subcontract
- Outsource
- Delegate
- Lease
- Contract out
- Job out
Synonyms:
- Assign
- Allocate
- Enlist
- Entrust
- Commission
Antonyms:
- In-house
- Manage directly
- Handle oneself
Humor-Filled Quotes:
“Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. And apparently, the farmer ‘farmed out’ the harvest work to him!”
Common Usages:
- “The publisher can’t afford an in-house copy editor, so it farms out that work to freelancers.”
- “When you phone your Internet provider, you often get someone from India or Bangladesh; they outsource all their calls.”
Thought-Provoking Proverbs:
- “If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” — Proverb related to the opposite approach.
- “Many hands make light work.” — The benefit of teamwork, whether internally or through outsourcing.
Literature Recommendations:
- “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Tim Ferriss
- “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell
Movie to Watch:
- “The Consultant” (Fictitious film about the humorous misadventures of a hapless freelancer who gets ‘farmed out’ for various peculiar jobs.)
### Which of these is a real idiom related to subcontracting?
- [x] Farming it out
- [ ] Plowing the seas
- [ ] Harvesting the moon
- [ ] Cultivating the clouds
> **Explanation:** "Farming it out" is a genuine idiom referring to subcontracting. The others are fanciful improvisations.
### Outsourcing means:
- [x] Delegating tasks to an external provider
- [ ] Keeping tasks within your department
- [ ] Harvesting crops yourself
- [ ] Starting a farm-to-table business
> **Explanation:** Outsourcing means delegating tasks to an external provider. Keeping tasks within your department is the antonym.
### True or False: 'Subcontract' is synonymous with 'Farming it out.'
- [x] True
- [ ] False
> **Explanation:** True, subcontracting and 'farming it out' refer to assigning work to an external party.
### Term “farming it out” originally referred to:
- [ ] Subcontracting software development tasks
- [x] Leasing land
- [ ] Buying farmland
- [ ] Raising livestock
> **Explanation:** The term originally meant leasing land back in the mid-1600s.
Farewell Note
Thank you for joining us on this whimsical journey through the history and hilarity of “farming it out.” Remember, whether you’re outsourcing your workload or taking it one task at a time, the field is yours to cultivate. 🌿🌻
E. X. Ploremore 2023-10-01
