Red tape meaning in English
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Definition
the red tape: the bureaucracy, the paperwork
Examples
- "As an immigrant myself, I struggled with a lot of red tape before I was finally awarded American citizenship."
Exercise 1
Brian says "As an immigrant myself, I struggled with a lot of red tape"...
This could also be expressed as "As an immigrant myself, I with a lot of "...
This could also be expressed as "As an immigrant myself, I with a lot of "...
Brian says "As an immigrant myself, I struggled with a lot of red tape"...
This could also be expressed as "As an immigrant myself, I battled 1 with a lot of bureaucracy 2"...
This could also be expressed as "As an immigrant myself, I battled 1 with a lot of bureaucracy 2"...
1 battled: "Battled" is the right answer. To "struggle" is to "fight" or to "battle". Here's another example: "Willy struggled with the thief, and eventually knocked him to the floor". Brian is using "struggle" in a mental sense, rather than a physical one!
1 waited: This is not the best choice here. To term "to wait" means to "stay patiently while expecting something to happen". Example: "I waited for the bus for 50 minutes this morning, which is why I'm late for work".
1 made friends: This is not the best choice here. To "make friends with someone" is to become close to them. Example: "Charles has only been at school for a week, but he has already made lots of friends".
1 gave up: This is not the best choice here. To "give up (hope, smoking)" is to "stop (having hope, smoking)". Example: "I tried to answer this question for ten minutes, and then I gave up".
2 bureaucracy: The terms "red-tape" and "bureaucracy" share a similar meaning, and both refer to long and complicated administrative procedures. Often, governments like to use a lot of red-tape! Here's another example: "If you want to get reimbursed for visiting the doctor in France, you have to deal with a lot of red-tape".
2 foreigners: This is not the correct answer. "Foreigners" are people who come from another country, and have nothing to do with "red-tape".
2 racism: This is not the correct answer. "Racism" is a form of prejudice against people who have a different ethnic origin from you, and has nothing to do with "red-tape".
2 hard work: This is not the correct answer. "Hard work" is "labour" or "intensive effort", and has nothing to do with "red-tape".
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