zero tolerance

English

Noun

zero tolerance (uncountable)

1. The strict policy of enforcing all the laws of a state, or the rules of an institution, and allowing no toleration or compromise even for first-time offenders or petty violations.
   • 2004, George Carlin, “ZERO TOLERANCE”, in When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?‎^[1], New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 84:

     I get weary of this zero tolerance bullshit. It's annoying. To begin with, it's a fascist concept; it's what Hitler and Stalin practiced. It allows for no exceptions or compassion of any kind. All is black and white—no gradations. But even more important, it doesn't solve anything. The use of such a slogan simply allows whichever company, school or municipality is using it to claim they're doing something about a problem when, in fact, nothing is being done at all and the problem is being ignored. It's a cosmetic non-solution designed to impress simpletons. Whenever you hear the phrase zero tolerance, remember, someone is bullshitting you.

Coordinate terms

• three strikes and you're out, three-strikes law

Translations

strict policy of enforcing all the laws or rules

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 零容忍 (zh) (líng róngrěn)

• Danish: nultolerance c
• Dutch: nultolerantie f
• Esperanto: nula toleremo
• Finnish: nollatoleranssi (fi)
• French: tolérance zéro (fr) f
• German: Nulltoleranz f
• Greek: μηδενική ανοχή (el) f (midenikí anochí)
• Japanese: ゼロトレランス (zerotoreransu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: nulltoleranse m

  Nynorsk: nulltoleranse m

• Polish: zerowa tolerancja
• Russian: нулева́я терпи́мость f (nulevája terpímostʹ), нулева́я толера́нтность f (nulevája tolerántnostʹ)
• Spanish: cero tolerancia f
• Swedish: nolltolerans (sv) c
• Ukrainian: нульова́ толера́нтність f (nulʹová tolerántnistʹ), нульова́ терпи́мість f (nulʹová terpýmistʹ)