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AndyInUK wrote: Any economist here
No 
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
I'm on-line therefore I am.
JimmyRopes
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Was talking to my Dad about stuff that used to go on in the tool-room he used to work in. If a job went wrong it was thrown in the scrap me.tal bin, the wag pitching it would often say "Oh well, good enough for government". Then he watched a TV programme ("American Chopper", or "Tank Kings") where exactly the same phrase was used.
Is this phrase in common use across the pond? I told my dad I'd ask.
[Edit]
Thanks. And to all those who replied with an explanation, it means the same here (ie shoddy work only the government would accept and pay for). The US may think it leads the world in incompetent government, but by jingo Blighty is more than giving it a run for its money 
modified 10-Apr-14 15:20pm.
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Yes
Some times it's "close enough for rock-and-roll".
You'll never get very far if all you do is follow instructions.
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Quote: Can any USians confirm?
Quote: tool-room
Quote: the wag
Quote: programme
I can't even understand what you're asking.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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Crush: Okay. Squirt here will now give you a rundown of proper exiting technique.
Squirt: Good afternoon. We're gonna have a great jump today. Okay, first crank a hard cutback as you hit the wall. There's a screaming bottom curve, so watch out. Remember: rip it, roll it, and punch it.
Marlin: It's like he's trying to speak to me, I know it.
[to Squirt]
Marlin: Look, you're really cute, but I can't understand what you're saying. Say the first thing again.
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Did you have that in memory or did you look it up?
Great movie.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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That part of the movie, less the words, was in memory.
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That's the first time I've seen a translation of what Squirt was saying. I've never actually been able to decipher it from the movie! 
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RyanDev wrote: Quote: Can any USians confirm?
Standard CP code.
RyanDev wrote: tool-room
A room in which machine-tools are made (bits for lathes for example).
RyanDev wrote: the wag
A "wit"
RyanDev wrote: programme
I worry about a dev that can't decipher this. 
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Quote: bits for lathes for example
Quote: A "wit"
You aren't helping much.
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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OK, let me have a go. I consider myself multilingual in that, amongst others, I am fluent in both English and American.
Quote: tool-room
A room for storing tools, such as drills, Spanners (Wrenches) and can also be a workroom (Tool-shed or Garage) containing things like Table Saws, Lathes (a spinning, wood-shaving thingy for making chair legs, Banister struts and the like) and other fixed tools.
Quote: the wag
"A wit"... a jokester, someone who can be amusing in conversation.
Quote: programme
Program
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Quote: wood-shaving thingy
You had me until "thingy."
There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
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I've used it as "close enough for government work".
It is occasionally responded to by "close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades"
CPallini wrote: You cannot argue with agile people so just take the extreme approach and shoot him.
:Smile:
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Shelby Robertson wrote: It is occasionally responded to by "close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades"
Which is itself responded to with "and thermonuclear weapons"
Or is that just me?
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Ian Shlasko wrote: is that just me?
Nope.
Will Rogers never met me.
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I use that phrase all the time. In my book, "Close enough for government work" === "half-assed, barely works, is not in any way elegant or tasteful, but fulfills the requirements"
In case you can't tell, I have a very dim opinion of my government.
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Sounds like the danish train upgrade program. To upgrade take the old IC3 trains to the new IC4 standard level.
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Yep. "Good enough for government work."
The implication is that you've done something to a barely passable quality, maybe "to spec" but actually pretty crappy.
And what the heck does 'wag' actually mean (and, for that matter, 'chav')?
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Keith Barrow wrote: Is this phrase in common use across the pond?
Yup! Most definitely!
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein
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I use this phrase often to describe when something is not perfect (is it ever?) but gets the job done. In my line of work, it might also be called 'rounding errors'.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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Keith Barrow wrote: across the pond
Isn't the entire world, technically, across the pond from you? You are an island after all.
modified 11-Apr-14 6:39am.
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No, "The Pond" is always specifically the Atlantic Ocean.
The other side of our small but great island is either "The Channel" which is the English Channel between civilisation and the rest of Europe (mostly France in this case) and is called "THE channel as it is the only one that counts, all other "channels" have their own names and are referred to by them. Above The Channel is the North Sea which is referred to as bloody cold!
There are other bits of water here and there but we don't worry about naming them properly in normal conversations.
[edit]: I just noticed you put:Quote: across the pong
...so you must have been referring to Belgium?
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Now you're being pondantic.
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Bassam Abdul-Baki wrote: Isn't the entire world, technically, across the pong from you? You are an island after all.
Technically, I'm a human being, not an island. Though I could understand the confusion if someone saw me swimming on my back and thought this 
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