| 单词 | red tape |
| 释义 | red tape (once / 4711 pages) n Use the phrase red tape when you're talking about something that takes much longer than it should and involves more procedures, forms, or rules than make sense. Applying for a passport or a driver's licence is well known for the amount of red tape involved. In other words, there are lines to stand in, forms to fill out and sign, and various proofs of identity required. Most people complain about the red tape they deal with when they're registering a car or buying a house, working with an impersonal business or government branch. The term comes from the actual red tape that was used to bind documents in colonial America and in Great Britain. WORD FAMILYred tape USAGE EXAMPLESHe also points to mismanagement, corruption and red tape within a complex web of urban planning authorities. The Guardian(Jan 03, 2017) That reality fueled several successful efforts in 2016 to put the brakes on government red tape. Washington Times(Jan 02, 2017) In Davao City, he helped lure investors, dramatically cut red tape and fired inept officials. Reuters(Dec 30, 2016) n needlessly time-consuming procedure Syn|Hyper bureaucratic procedure procedure a mode of conducting legal and parliamentary proceedings |
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