That’s out of scope. — The request is not in the agreed work.
That’s not included. — The list says what is.
That’ll be extra. — It can be done, at a price.
À la carte. — Each item is chosen and priced on its own.
It’s not in my contract. — The written terms set the limit.
Mission creep is the gradual expansion of a mission beyond its original scope. The phrase first appeared in print in 1993, in coverage of the UN mission in Somalia. Jim Hoagland of The Washington Post used it that April, and titled a column in July “Beware ‘mission creep’ In Somalia.”
The New York Times used it after the firefight in Mogadishu on October 4, 1993, in which eighteen American military personnel were killed.
An American college course begins with a syllabus that lists what will be done, by whom and by when. Penn State’s guidance for instructors says: “In essence, it is a contract between the instructor and the student.”
The University of Tennessee describes it as “an implicit or explicit agreement between the instructor and the student regarding what will be done by each party and how decisions related to assignments and interactions will be made.” Students know the answer to many questions: “It’s in the syllabus.”
Before delivering the report on a house in Arizona, a home inspector must “enter into a written agreement with the client,” stating the purpose, date, fee and any limitations or exclusions. The inspection is “visual, not technically exhaustive” and “will not identify concealed conditions or latent defects.”
The standards then list what “Inspectors are NOT required to” do. They need not report on the life expectancy of components or on cosmetic items. They need not determine the presence of “toxins, fungus, molds, mold spores, mildew, radon.”
A background actor in an American film or television production does not speak. Under SAG-AFTRA rules, the job changes when “A performer is directed to speak a line.” The background performer then qualifies for an upgrade to principal performer.
The union contracts also have a name for small speaking roles: an “under-five” is a character with fewer than five lines of dialogue.
Every interstate mover must give customers a federal booklet, “Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move.” Under a binding estimate, “you cannot be required to pay more than the amount on the estimate at the time of delivery.”
The estimate covers the goods listed in it. If the customer adds items or services and no revised estimate is agreed, “the mover is not required to service the shipment.”
Medicare publishes a list of what Original Medicare does not cover. It includes “Eye exams (for prescription eyeglasses),” “Cosmetic surgery,” “Massage therapy,” “Routine physical exams,” “Hearing aids and exams for fitting them” and “Most dental care.”
For these, the site says, “you’ll have to pay for them yourself” unless other coverage pays.
Since August 17, 2024, an American real estate agent who belongs to a multiple listing service and works with a home buyer must sign a written agreement with the buyer before touring a home. The rule came from the settlement of lawsuits over broker commissions.
The agent’s pay must be stated: “The amount of compensation must be objectively ascertainable and may not be open-ended.” The National Association of Realtors advises: “Agreements should clearly articulate the services the MLS Participant will provide buyer.”
In Five Easy Pieces (1970), Jack Nicholson asks for a side of wheat toast in a roadside diner. The waitress refuses: “No substitutions.” “Only what’s on the menu.” “We don’t have any side orders of toast.” “I don’t make the rules.”
He then orders a chicken salad sandwich on wheat toast, without butter, lettuce, mayonnaise or chicken. The waitress: “You want me to hold the chicken, huh?”
In 2012 Delta Air Lines became the first U.S. airline to introduce a basic economy fare. United and American followed in February 2017.
The new fares came with a list of what they did not include. Buyers could not pick a seat when they bought the ticket, they boarded in the last group, and they could carry on only a small item that fit under the seat.