dovetailduty
/ˈdʌvteɪlˌdjuːti/nounVerified NewThe invisible coordination labor of joining other people's work together, performed without recognition, title, or allotted time.
Someone translates between teams, notices the two deadlines about to collide, and stitches the handover nobody wrote. When it is done, nothing visibly happened — which is exactly why it drifts to the conscientious and stays off every job description.
Etym. — dovetail (the joinery joint that locks without nails) + duty: labor whose whole product is the fit.
Rel. — conduitcrat · askcreep
Novelty check: NEW · checked 2026-11-08
review evidence: wordstoreview/review-batch-3-04-work.md
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