kick the tin

1. Especially in politics, to postpone or defer a definitive action, decision, or solution, usually by effecting a short-term one instead. Often followed by "down the road." Primarily heard in UK. It looks as though they're going to kick the tin down the road again on the tax issue, but they'll have to find a lasting solution eventually.

2. To make a financial contribution; to be responsible for paying a certain amount of money. Primarily heard in Australia. We had expected my father-in-law would kick the tin for an additional $1 million investment, but he said he didn't want to put any more money into the project. After these financial crises, it's always the taxpayer who ends up kicking the tin to pay off the government's bad debts.

kick the tin

AUSTRALIAN, INFORMAL

If you kick the tin, you give someone money or pay for something. Fifty per cent of our customers said they would kick the tin for an in-car premium sound system.

kick the tin

make a contribution of money for a particular purpose. Australian informal

The ‘tin’ was originally literally a tin can into which money was thrown.

See also: kick, tin

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

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References in periodicals archive ?

"We had endless games of football of course, kick the tin, whip and top, strong horses and baseball.

Pocket lots of facts on watering holes in city; Cardiff Remembered

Do you remember buying a pennyworth (old pennies that is) of scrumps (scraps of batter from fried fish) from the local fish and chip shop Buying hot crusty cobs for a penny from the local bakery one penny bottles of dandelion & burdock and sarsaparilla from the pop shop around the corner the man on a bike with a large box on the back who would open up the box to display a grinding wheel, offering to sharpen knives for one penny and scissors for two pence playing mob, kick the tin, whip and top and rat tat ginger in the street?

The good old days, or maybe not? FEEDBACK

If you weren't ruining your shoes or pestering the neighbours out the street playing "kick the tin" or some such game, all we had to entertain us was good old "steam radio" - no, not the one with the cat's whisker, just after that when one of the highlights of the week would be tuning into Radio Luxembourg for the Top Twenty and having to re-tune the station about twice every record.

Time when it was about entertainment and not political matters

The street was the finest adventure playground of all, scene of Bomberino battles and week-long Releaster and Kick the Tin epics while the girls played Bad Eggs and Hopscotch.

The rules of Gobs, Bomberino, Kick the Tin, Releaster and the rest are available for just a stamped addressed envelope and - well, shall we say a tenner?

Memories of games from our childhood

So could kick the tin, where, instead of a den to invade you simply kicked the tin away to release the captives grouped around it.

Time to remember: When games were the tops

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