Kick the Can Down the Road

---

🗓️ Idiom: Kick the Can Down the Road (v)

---

💬 Meaning

• To delay dealing with a problem or decision.
• It means avoiding action now and leaving the issue for later.

---

🧠 Example Sentences

• The leadership team kicked the can down the road instead of addressing the staffing shortage.
• We can’t keep kicking the can down the road, we need to fix the budgeting issue now.
• Delaying the system upgrade is just kicking the can down the road.

---

🏛️ Origin

This idiom likely comes from a simple children’s game of kicking a can instead of picking it up. In business, it refers to avoiding or postponing a decision or responsibility.

---

📝 Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blank:

By postponing the software update again, they were just __________.

Answer

kicking the can down the road

2. Choose the correct meaning of “kick the can down the road”:

A) To make a quick decision
B) To fix a problem permanently
C) To delay action or avoid solving a problem
D) To celebrate project success

Answer

C) To delay action or avoid solving a problem

3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:

“They avoided making a tough decision about the project.” → Change the sentence using: kick the can down the road

Answer

They kicked the can down the road on the project decision.

---

ℹ️ Other Useful Pages

---