Red Tape

i feel so tired and stupid, why did i accept this favor of doing the translation???
and there are some problems with my latest client @@
made me a little bit pissed off.......

but anyways, i learned this new phrase "red tape"...and to find out what that meant.......new phrases came up, such as "red letter day", "red carpet", etc........

http://www.englishonline.org.cn/zh-hant/vocabulary-grammar/johnny-grammar/blog/red-tape#tabs-177850-1
http://www.ept-xp.com/?ID=2204020207

One of the most infuriating things about being an adult is the number of forms one has to fill in; it seems I am continually filling in some form for one thing or another. Bureaucracythrives on red tape and, while it may provide employment to thousands of civil servants, I sometimes feel I am being strangled by the stuff. The reason we call bureaucratic paperwork "red tape" dates back to the UK. Legal documents were bound and tied together with red tape. When someone cuts through the red tape, he or she bypasses all the legal formalities and gets to the nub of the issue.

Anyone who has ever had to get up really early in the morning, to catch an aeroplane, will know what a red eye flight is. These are flights departing either very late at night or early the next day. The term "red eye" comes from the fatigue caused by the overnight travel. Incidentally the word “aeroplane” is older than “airplane”; both words are commonly used, though airplane is more common in the US and Canada.

Traditionally bank statements would consist of two columns: credits and debits. The credits would be written in black ink and the debits in red ink. So the term in the red came to mean in debt and losing money. Naturally in the black means the opposite; profitable and making money.

A red letter day is an important day and the term originates with the church. Religious festivals were marked on calendars in red; a saint’s day for example. Nowadays the term is used to refer to any special day.

“Last Wednesday was a red letter day for me as I finally passed my driving test”

When you are caught red handed, you are caught in the act of doing something wrong.

“I caught my son red handed taking chocolate biscuits from the kitchen cupboard”

“He was caught red handed as he pocketed takings from the till”

There are various theories about the origin of this term but I think it just means, you are caught with the blood of your victim on your hands and so are obviously guilty.

Finally a red herring is misleading or false information. Politicians will often try to avoid important issues with red herrings that draw people’s attention away from the central topic.

“The President’s speech about the bad weather conditions was a red herring to avoid talking about the real issue of unemployment”

“In the film the police were thrown off the scent of the real killer by a series of elaborate red herrings”

A red herring is a salted herring that turns red when it is preserved through smoking. At the end of this process, the fish is called a kipper.

Some people think red herrings were used to train hunting dogs by laying down a scent for them to follow. Although this wasn’t the scent of a real animal, it would give them useful hunting practice. From this we get the idea of a false trial or misleading information.


Glossary

Infuriating (adj.) - To make very angry, enrage

Bureaucracy (n.) - Government administration

Red tape (n.) - Forms and procedures required to get bureaucratic approval for something

Strangled (v.) - Choked, suffocated, deprived of oxygen

Bound (v.) - Tied

Cut through the red tape (idiom) - Avoid or circumvent the usual bureaucracy

Nub (n.) - Essence, centre, core

Red eye flight (n.) - Late night or early morning flight

Fatigue (n.) - Tiredness

Credits (n.) - Positive amount or balance in a person’s bank account

Debits (n.) - Negative amount or balance

In the red (idiom) - In debt, losing money

In the black (idiom) - Profitable, making money

Red letter day (n.) - Special day

Calendars (n.) - Tables showing the months, week and days of the year

Saints (n.) - People officially recognized and venerated by the church

Caught red handed (idiom) - Caught in the act of doing something wrong

Pocketed (v.) - Stole

Takings (n.) - Income

Till (n.) - Box or drawer for money taken from customers, part of a cash register

Red herring (n.) - Misleading or false information

Thrown off the scent (v.) - Given false or confusing information

Herring (n.) - Small common fish eaten in great quantities in Europe

Kipper (n.) - Smoked herring

Scent (n.) - Smell