What it means
Means pointless bureaucracy, endless forms, rules and sign-offs that slow everything to a crawl. Originally literal, papers were tied up with red ribbon or tape in official offices, and the name stuck. You hear it when someone’s drowning in procedures instead of doing the job. If you’re muttering it, you’re basically saying, let me get on with it.
Usage examples
"I tried to book a meeting room but Facilities wanted a risk assessment, three approvals, and a spreadsheet. Bloody red tape, mate."
"Getting the permit took months, buried under endless red tape."
"We could've fixed it in ten minutes, but there was so much red tape the whole thing got shoved into next week."
"I'm not asking for a parade, just the form signed. All this red tape is doing my head in."
"We had the funding ready to go, then Procurement lobbed another stack of red tape at it and the whole thing stalled."
Where it comes from
It started out as the literal stuff. In Britain, legal and government papers were often tied with red ribbon or tape to bundle them up. By the 18th century, people were already using red tape in a sarcastic way for the slow, fussy official process wrapped round those documents.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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We look after this expression together
If they say it where you live and something is missing here, bring it. A magikito looks at it and adds it.
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