surplus to requirements
Beyond what's necessary
Surplus to requirements means no longer needed or wanted, typically said of employees being let go.
The phrase originates in British bureaucratic and military usage, where surplus inventory or personnel exceeded what was required.
It now applies more broadly to anything deemed excess or dispensable: After the merger, half the staff were declared surplus to requirements.
The phrasing sounds clinical, often deliberately so—a polite way of saying someone is being discarded.
- redundantExceeding what's needed
- extraneousNot pertinent or essential
- superfluousExceeding what suffices
- excess baggageLuggage beyond the limit
- unnecessaryNot essential or required
dead weight · surplusage · waste · unneeded · unused · supernumerary · excessive · overstock · nonessential · deadwood · white elephant · obsolete · spare · overflow · discard · cast aside · eliminate · offload
surplus to requirementsessential
Fundamentally necessary
indispensable · necessary · vital · crucial · critical
surplus to requirementsin short supply
Insufficiently available
in demand · scarce · sought-after · at a premium · hard to come by
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