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Conduit

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(pronounced kon-doo-it or kon-dyoo-it or kon-dit)  noun

Definition

1. a pipe or channel for conveying water or other fluid.   2. a channel or means through which something is conveyed or transmitted.

Main Example

A state department announcement that "the U.S. has been in direct contact with Iran" over the alleged plot by some Iranians to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington D.C. surprised and even puzzled many Americans. How could there be any direct contact with Tehran, considering that there are no diplomatic ties between the two nations, many wondered. The reason is not far to seek: Enemy nations often use neutral nations--Switzerland, for instance--as conduits for important communications. In the case of Iran, the U.S. has also used Britain and Saudi Arabia as communication channels.

Workplace Examples

• Our corporate communications department's monthly newsletter, which talks about every new and exciting activity in the company, goes out to all the employees. It's become a great conduit to facilitate information flow throughout the company.
• That corner table in the cafeteria is where all of the company's managers meet over lunch every Friday. It acts as a conduit for ideas, and even jokes, to travel across departments.

Other Examples

• a few sales brokers allowing themselves to become conduits for illicit payments from European and North American manufacturers seeking lucrative contracts in Asia, Africa, and South America
• thanks to his strong connections abroad, an entrepreneur in Bangalore, India, able to serve as a conduit for investment capital from the West and oil-rich Arab nations
• some Islamic charities in the U.S. suspected of serving as conduits for financial aid to terrorist organizations abroad
• a key reason for the incorrect intelligence regarding Saddam's supposed WMDs: the CIA's contacts in Iraq, which served as conduits for intelligence about the secret goings-on in that country, providing misleading information
• To prevent school shooting rampages such as the one in Red Lake, Minnesota, when 16-year old Jeffrey Weise killed several people at Red Lake Senior High School, campus police must talk to students and thus become "conduits for information," says a Princeton University expert.

© 2012 V.J. Singal
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