Cover your ass
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The acronym CYA, meaning cover your ass, as well as being relatively widespread urban slang, is also commonly used by a number of professional bodies, in relation to procedures which are perceived to be purely defensive against legal penalties. The two most commonly cited examples are:
- Physicians, who use CYA as a short-hand for referring to the practise of defensive medicine - i.e., ordering every conceivable test to try and insulate them from future medical malpractice suits if the patient fails to recover.
- Bank compliance officers, who sometimes joke that KYC ("know your customer") and CYA are essentially the same thing - ie. that money laundering and terrorist financing will inevitably occur regardless of the amount of regulatory strictures which put in place,[1] but by complying with all the regulatory requirements the compliance officer can absolve themselves from future liability for failing to spot a money launderer or terrorist.
But its use is also reasonably widespread among journalists [3] and structural engineers.
An alternative form is CYOA meaning cover your own arse.
