red tape

[scottallen]

Where did the phrase cut through the red tape come from?

[Peter Pedant]

red tape was used to bind together legal briefs. erm sorry that can be taken in various ways.

The tape dye itself was from a yellow dye from a yellow flower, which they washed and washed and washed, and what was left was - - - red!

NFwill probably tell us which flower it was.

 

[Quizmonster]

As Peter says above, the origin is in the binding of legal documents. However, because the law is always seen as being a stickler for detailed accuracy and nit-picking, the phrase 'red tape' has come to mean any over-fussy administrative practice, usually involving the filling-in of forms in triplicate and so forth ad nauseam, whether to do with law or not. Hence, to 'cut through the red tape' means to develop systems whereby all that nonsense is done away with and processes are simplified.

[jocook17]

could it also be reference to the opening of a new building etc - the ceremony itself of cutting a tape across the entrance - therefore meaning to 'open it up', 'remove obstacles', 'allow access' etc - just a thought