agenda

at the top of the/someone's agenda

if a subject or plan is at the top of someone's agenda, it is the most important thing they want to discuss or deal with. The government has put education at the top of its agenda. When the schoolteachers meet, classroom violence will be high on the agenda. (= one of the most important subjects to discuss)

See also: top

a hidden agenda

a reason for doing something that you are hiding by pretending that you have a different reason. He stressed that the review was to identify staffing needs and there was no hidden agenda to cut jobs.

off the/someone's agenda

on the/someone's agenda - if a subject, plan, or activity is on the agenda, people are willing to talk about it, or to try to make it happen. Foreign travel is off the agenda (= not going to happen) until we've got some money together.

on the/someone's agenda

if a subject, plan, or activity is on the agenda, people are willing to talk about it, or to try to make it happen. He made it clear that strike action was not on the agenda

set the agenda

to decide what subjects other people should discuss and deal with, often in a way which shows that you have more authority than them. Opposition parties have managed to set the agenda during this election by emphasizing the public's fear of crime.

See also: set