单词本：red tape

今天学了跨国管理相关的文章，其中提到作为跨国公司的管理者，必须熟悉世界各国的政策、制度、经济和文化等。其中有这样一句话：

Swedish retailer Ikea has halted further investment in Russia because of continual governmental red tape delays.

大概意思是说：因为俄罗斯政府审批流程的繁文缛节，瑞典的宜家暂停在俄罗斯的投资。

red tape 红色胶带是繁文缛节的意思？这可非常令人费解。

于是我简单调研了一下，原来是这样子的：以前的英国官方文件惯例上是用红色布带系成一扎一扎的，所以，慢慢的，人们就用red tape来形容官方规定的繁琐复杂了。即：

Strict adherence to rules and regulations so that a procedure seems to take longer than necessary.

比如：

• You can’t believe how much red tape there is in getting a visa. 你不能相信有多少阻碍去获得签证。
• This was no time for red tape and circumlocution, although these have their place in a well-ordered, placid system. 官僚习气和推三拖四的作风，在按部就班、平平稳稳的秩序里还可以，但现在却不合时宜。（ circumlocution ：迂回曲折的说法。 placid：温和的；平和的；文静的；平静的）

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晚上回家看锂电池行业新闻，居然又让我读到了red tape，这里将欧盟推出新一轮锂电池激励计划，同时也在制定相应的指导政策，相关人员也担心这些复杂的繁文缛节政策会阻碍电池产业发展：

the rules have a “high level of complexity” and could threaten to hinder the relatively nascent battery industry with red tape.

读到这段话，我就不需要查字典就懂了。仿佛是一种默契。这就是学语言学单词的乐趣呀。这种不期而遇的学语言的惊喜，从初中到高中，一直伴随我到现在。

还有组织行为学(Organizational Behavior 2005)管理组织变革这一章举的例子：

ABB, which owns power generation facilities in 16 countries, is well positioned to take advantage of deregulation in the electric power industry as governments around the world seek to reduce government regulation and red tape.

References