red tape

English

Bundle of US pension documents from 1906 bound in red tape

Etymology

• Thought to allude to the former practice of binding government documents in red-coloured tape

Noun

red tape (uncountable)

Wikipedia

1. (idiomatic) A derisive term for regulations or bureaucratic procedures that are considered excessive or excessively time- and effort-consuming.

   All the red tape and paperwork that goes on there prevents any progress.

Synonyms

• administrivia
• administrativia
• paperwork

Translations

excessive bureaucracy

Chinese: 繁文縟節 Finnish: paperisota (fi) French: Impôt_papier (fr) German: Amtsschimmel (de) m.

Japanese: 繁文縟礼 (hanbun jokurei), レッドテープ (reddo teepu), (slang) お役所さんの仕事 (o-yakusho-san no shigoto) Portuguese: burocracia (pt) f.

Anagrams

• adepter
• predate
• retaped
• tapered