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The English we speak.

From BBC Learning English.

Hello. See learning English.

Hello and welcome to the English we speak with me Fay Faye and me Rob.

So Faye Faye what are you doing tonight?

Tonight?

Oh, um, I'm busy. I'm washing my hair tonight.

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.

Oh yes the new bar we're going for a drink just one on the way home.

Would you like to join us?

Oh yeah yeah that'd be great.

Actually haven't you got that big project to finish? The one the boss said was very important?

Oh that, no, no, no, no, no, no, that's not important. I'll leave it for a few days and he'll forget about it.

Mmm, so you're going to kick it into the long grass?

Kick 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.

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.

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