administrivia

English

Etymology

Blend of administrative +‎ trivia; 1930s US.; in use by 1922 by Harlen Fiske Stone to describe duties of law school dean

Noun

administrivia (countable and uncountable, plural administrivia)

1. Administrative details that must be dealt with in order to do more interesting work.

   Administrivia take up two hours of every day.

   Administrivia takes up two hours of every day.

Usage notes

• Grammatical aspects of the usage of administrivia derive from those that apply to trivia. Formerly trivia, as a derivative of a Latin plural, required a plural verb, as in the first usage example above. Most modern authorities accept the usage in the second usage example. In the US the second usage may be preferred. Compare other Latin plurals such as data.

Synonyms

• administrativia
• paperwork
• red tape