an intangible area where untimely, tangential, or otherwise undesirable ideas that crop up are metaphorically placed, often to be abandoned, as in: “Let’s put price increases in the parking lot for now, we want to stay focused on unit growth”; from the idea that vehicles not currently in use can be moved to a remote location and turned off, to be revisited only when needed; this phrase is often used to gently redirect a conversation that has strayed down a digressive path, without coming across too sternly; some meetings may utilize a visual parking lot, where such items are noted in an area separated from the main writing space