ManagementSpeak: I would like to set up a meeting with you to discuss this subject so we can put it into context.

Translation: I would like to set up a meeting with you to discuss your disagreement in the context of your future position and salary.

Because H. S. Lahman put a piquant phrase into context, he gets to join the KJR Club.

Ever since Samuel Johnson famously proposed that “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel,” last-refuge quotes, such as Isaac Asimov’s “Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent,” have been popular.

I have to follow Ambrose Bierce’s lead on this subject, though: In both cases, far from being the last refuges, they are the first.

Which leads to this week’s attempt at aphoristic immortality: “Coercion is the first refuge of the lazy.” (Yes, I do recognize that Freecell is the real first refuge. Chalk it up to artistic license.)