Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English
We Speak with me, Feifei…
Rob: …and me, Rob. So, Feifei, what are
you doing tonight?
Feifei: Tonight? Oh, erm, I’m busy – I’m
washing my hair tonight.
Rob: Oh right – so you’re not going to that
new bar for a drink? I overheard someone
saying that you and some of the team
were going.
Feifei: Oh yes! The new bar. We are going
for a drink – just one - on the way home – errr….
Would you like to join us?
Rob: Oh yes that would be great!
Feifei: Actually, haven’t you got that big
project to finish? The one the boss said
was very important?
Rob: Oh that! No, no, no – that’s not
important – I’ll leave it for a few days and
he’ll forget about it.
Feifei: Hmm, so you’re going to kick it into
the long grass?
Rob: ‘Kick it into the long grass’? You
mean delay a plan or decision about
something because it will only cause
problems for me – and that by delaying it,
it might get forgotten altogether?
Feifei: That’s exactly what I meant! Let’s
hear some examples of this phrase in action…
The decision to kick the plans for a new
railway line into the long grass means
that we’ll have to continue to face
overcrowding and slow journey times.
He hoped by kicking a decision on her
marriage proposal into the long grass
she'd soon forget – but she didn’t!
I’ve decided to kick this plan to redecorate
the house into the long grass – we’ve
got more urgent things to do, like fixing
the hole in the roof!
Feifei: You're listening to The English We
Speak from BBC Learning English. In this
programme, we're looking at the
expression 'to kick something
into the long grass'. It means to delay a
plan or decision because it is difficult or
problematic. And Rob is delaying the project
the boss asked him to do because it’s
hard work.
Rob: Hard work? This project is perfect
for someone with my skills, but I need
time to think about it… maybe a few
weeks.
Feifei: But if you kick it into the long grass,
you won’t be able to find it!
Rob: Of course not. Now, what time are
we going for that drink?
The Boss: Rob could I have a word about
that urgent project I asked you to do – as
soon as possible?
Feifei: Oh dear, Rob. It looks like you’re
going to have to kick that drink into the
long grass. I think you’d better go and see
the boss. Good luck!
Rob: OK. See you later.
Feifei: Bye!
Rob: Bye.