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close enough for government work

Good enough; OK; only satisfactory. The phrase implies that government work is usually of mediocre quality. When my project ripped in half as I walked out the door, my mom glued it back together and sent me on my way, saying, "It's close enough for government work!"
See also: close, enough, government, work

good enough for government work

Serviceable or adequate; passably sufficient. The phrase implies that government work is usually of mediocre quality. When my project ripped in half as I walked out the door, my mom glued it back together and sent me on my way, saying, "It's good enough for government work!" A: "Are you sure this report is ready to be published? There are a lot of issues with some of the research." B: "Meh. Good enough for government work."
See also: enough, good, government, work

governments have long arms

proverb The controlling sovereign or government of a given nation has broad, far-reaching power and influence that it can use to control or punish people. You do realize that the government is able to track just about every move you make, right? Remember—governments have long arms. The brigands thought they would be safe hiding out in this small provincial town, but governments have long arms, and they were eventually caught and hanged.
See also: arm, government, have, long

kings have long arms

proverb The controlling sovereign or government of a given nation has broad, far-reaching power and influence that it can use to control or punish people. You do realize that the government is able to track just about every move you make, right? Remember—kings have long arms. The brigands thought they would be safe hiding out in this small provincial town, but kings have long arms, and they were eventually caught and hanged.
See also: arm, have, king, long
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

close enough for government work

 and good enough for government work
sufficiently close; done just well enough. (Alludes to the notion that work for the government is not done with care or pride.) I didn't do the best job of mending your shirt, but it's close enough for government work.
See also: close, enough, government, work

Kings have long arms.

 and Governments have long arms.
Prov. Those who are in power can always catch and punish people who have opposed them, no matter how far away those opponents may go. After his attempt to assassinate the king, the prince sailed to a distant country, although his wife warned him it would be to no avail. "Kings have long arms," she reminded him.
See also: arm, have, King, long
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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References in periodicals archive ?
The Court's decisions break down into two categories: (1) governmentally compelled payments to support generic advertising campaigns with which individual contributors may disagree, and (2) required disclaimers included in advertising to dispel potentially misleading claims.
COMPELLED COMMERCIAL SPEECH AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT
Why is there no governmentally conducted conversation about the implications of the legislation that arouses their concerns?
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Or, the notion that development should evolve from existing uses, rather than by governmentally planned, wholesale clearance and new construction.
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system, with all of its moral hazard, adverse selection, and other flaws (many governmentally induced), does provide strong incentives to give high-quality care to those who are truly ill.
Why I prefer French Health Care
The demographics of different age groups within a particular society produce numerous effects economically, socially, and governmentally. Countries where the elderly population is growing faster than its working age population may eventually be unable to pay for old-age social services.
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The move supports the company's consulting work, says Byron-Fortin, as Blue Heron can now develop a spill plan, training and access to materials needed for that plan as well as the governmentally mandated inspections of the equipment.
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The globalization of communication technology, transportation systems, and business has stimulated the initiation and growth of governmentally and privately sponsored mental health programs.
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Lawmaker Amira al-Baldawi said that the governmentally subsidized system should be directed to the society's poor segments.
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More companies will move their operations to less governmentally regulated countries, creating wealth and new jobs in places other than Arkansas or the United States.
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The appointment must also strike a delicate balance with the other heads of the executive: politically (between Christian Democrats, Socialists, or even Liberals or Greens), governmentally (between large and small states) and geographically (between the South and North of Europe, or even between the East and the West).
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"How could a Christian minister not be against a governmentally sponsored license plate?" asked Summers in the column.
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In his analysis of Silko's, Momaday's, and Edrich's narratives of spiritual return, McClure sketches the overdetermined nature of religion and secularism in Native American literature: on the one hand, Native Americans have long served as spiritual, earth-centered Other in the secular Western imaginary, a stereotype inflecting any engagement with native spiritual practices; at the same time, governmentally sanctioned programs of acculturation have severed many Native Americans from their cultural and sacral inheritances.
McClure, John A. Partial Faiths: Postsecular Fiction in the Age of Pynchon and Morrison
With a clear spotlight of reform focusing on colleges and universities, the scepter of change must be taken seriously or, chances are, it will be governmentally imposed.
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By 2000, the VQA had become a governmentally regulated system--all sizes of wineries were obliged to follow its mandates.
Study deconstructs Ontario's VQA
A former director with the International Window Cleaning Association, author John Baxter draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to articulately explain how to create and register a window cleaning business, as well as how to chose a company name, the proper equipment required, how to advertise and solicit business, keep accounts, organize the office, bid on house and storefront windows, hire employees, keep and process governmentally required paperwork, and every other aspect of a professional window cleaning business operation.
The Window Cleaning Business
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