Idiom
cut red tape
Meaning
To reduce bureaucracy.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The new mayor promised to cut red tape for small businesses.”
“Starting a restaurant used to take months, but the city cut red tape and now it takes weeks.”
“Determined to attract foreign investment, the reformist government moved swiftly to cut red tape, slashing permit times from years to mere months.”
Examples
simple
“The new mayor promised to cut red tape for small businesses.”
contextual
“Starting a restaurant used to take months, but the city cut red tape and now it takes weeks.”
complex
“Determined to attract foreign investment, the reformist government moved swiftly to cut red tape, slashing permit times from years to mere months.”
Origin
From cut, to remove, and red tape, referring to excessive bureaucratic procedures. The expression derives from the practice of binding official legal and government documents in red tape, which required cutting to access the contents.
Key words
Related idioms
- Updated