Meet 'the Rug': Secret, funny boss nicknames

(MoneyWatch) Do you have a secret, funny nickname for your boss that he or she would be mortified to hear? Or maybe your manager would love it and laugh along with you?

Whether you have a private nickname that you only silently mouth to yourself or a discreet one that you use after hours with work friends, you're not alone. In speaking with some folks, I found four boss nicknames that are sure to make you laugh -- particularly if your own boss is driving you crazy today. (I've kept the stories anonymous, out of respect for both the employees and bosses.)

"NAC" (aka Not A Clue)
"My coworkers and I came up with a saying that we repeatedly parroted to the boss when he was imparting his vast knowledge upon us. All of us had more (or as much) time, knowledge, and experience in the business than he did. This boss enjoyed listening to himself talk, and was quick to try to impress and 'educate' us. At which point, we would always reply that he had a real 'knack' for the business. He was always glad to receive the praise. What he didn't realize was that he was the only one in the group who didn't know that 'knack' was really an acronym spelled NAC, for 'Not A Clue'. "

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"The Rug"
"[Our boss] decided to show up to work one day wearing a toupee. The office was all abuzz. Turns out his new good looks had no positive effect on his personality or temperament. After a while, he was known as 'the rug'. Getting called into his office to be humiliated was called a 'rugging'. On my very last day of employment there, after turning in my two weeks of notice, I was called into his office and was told I would never have been made a partner at his firm... my last rugging..."

"CDSE" (aka Cold, Dead Shark Eyes)
"CDSE is a result of the way this particular 'superior' would stare at people in group meetings, with these cold, gray, emotionless shark eyes. You could just feel her judging every syllable, waiting to pounce and devour you in front of the whole school like that one stray fish. [The nickname] became conference call IM fodder. There were a group of VPs who worked together several layers beneath CDSE, so we all kind of shared that one."

"The Boogieman"
"[A few hair stylists and I] had been renting a booth in a hair salon for many years, and we referred to the owner of the hair salon as 'the boogieman'. My co-worker and I would often say 'the boogieman is coming' or 'the boogieman is going to get you!' Every time he came around he was always angry, irritable, or annoyed with someone or something. We felt like little children scattering around hoping that he would not say anything to us, because whatever he was going through, he would make sure that we all knew about it."

Do you have a secret, funny nickname for your boss? Please share in the comments section below.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user Inverse Hypercube

[thiagodaluz7]

That's awesome. I work at a wildly entertaining <a href="http://www.bellinghamheatedstorage.com/unit-sizes.html">storage units Bellingham</a> establishment. I have to convince my coworkers to help create a storage related boss nickname. Great article!

[marthtolkien]

This is so great. There was a boss at these <a href="http://www.storagekingarthur.com/storage-units-west-valley-city-utah/">storage units in south salt lake</a> that everyone loved to call "The Satiric One" because that was all he did. He constantly was degrading people in front of the other workers to try and be funny, but it never really worked. Thanks everyone!

[satansluvchild]

Ok, sooooo...about 2.5 years ago we got a new Division Chief AND he hired a new Section Chief. The Division Chief was a SEVERE micro-manager and the Section Chief he hired would (of course) go along with WHATEVER he said.

Long story short, the Division Chief was stripped of his postition and became a regular line attorney again. The Section Chief however, who played the victim of the merciless dictator...just continued micro-managing on her own...earning the nickname..."Micro".

[adi@verge]

We had some horrible ladies in a company I used to work for who labelled our MD as "Spongy" after Sponge Bob Square pants as he was very straight and slightly geeky - but he was full of positivity and I quite liked him and respected him for his outlook...

But how about "rampage" for the Psychopath in our office currently who cunningly bullies, and sets off everyday on a rampage to set someone up and confuse, and breathe the fear of God into them, oh and say "no no no" to every idea put forward - sad sad person

[uberarchon]

In loving jest, we have a nickname for our SVP:

Drama Lion.

He definitely roars with drama whenever possible. :-)

[Donna21100]

The oddest nickname for a supervisor that I've heard was "Santa Claus"! She (yes, she) did not have the jolly attitude or giving nature, but she did have white hair, a penchant for wearing red suits, and treated us like children. Or maybe we were her worker-elves.

I'm not sure who thought of it, but most of us understood who it was the first time it was used in front of us.

[Samwise19]

At work a few of my co-workers have a name for our director. We call him "the Precious", because no matter what idea he comes up with the senior management thinks it is like a great idea.

[Jotto999]

I got quite a chuckle out of the NAC one. In fact I'm tempted to start that up with someone I know (they would never browse this site).

[cag55]

We had a co-worker that whined incessantly about her personal trials and tribulations to our boss. He constantly made excuses as to why she didn't get her work done, and now one of us had to do it, or how the rest of us must have mis-understood her since she didn't mean to be rude. At one point, my boss was walking next to me and I mentioned "her" to him. He shook his head and said "That poor girl. It's so difficult to be a single mother with a new baby. Never mind all the other problems she's having." The rest of us (mostly women, like me) were flabberghasted. It was like he had no clue about the rest of us.... After that we referred to "her" as TPG, That Poor Girl. The boss is still clueless, but I have to give her credit, she knows how to work him.

[apeden00]

"Chario"

SpareFoot.com CEO Chuck Gordon and COO Mario Feghali live together, party together,
and spend every waking minute in between together. As college roommates,
they founded SpareFoot, and have been together ever since. Their quirky,
tight-knit friendship provides much fodder for our fun-loving employees.
When they go to a restaurant, Chuck first decides what Mario will eat, and
then orders it for him. At times, we occasionally witness Chuck actually
cut Mario's chicken for him. This has led to our team referring to Chuck
and Mario as one, "Chario," incessantly behind their backs. However, it is
good-natured and in jest.