act of Congress

English

Etymology

From the literal sense of act (“legislation”) enacted by US Congress.

Pronunciation

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Noun

act of Congress (plural acts of Congress)

1. (idiomatic, US, chiefly colloquial) Authorization that is extremely difficult to get, especially in a timely fashion.

   Does it take an act of Congress just to get a stop sign on a corner?

   • 2000, Nevada Barr, Liberty Falling, page 79:

     Should Frederick stick around — and apparently it would take an act of Congress to get him out of the ICU — he might take up where Molly had brutally left off.

   • 2003, E. Lynn Harris, A Love of My Own, page 54:

     Since it seemed like getting a glass of wine was going to require an act of Congress, I quickly agreed.

   • 2008, Bill White with Robert Gandt, Intrepid: The Epic Story of America's Most Legendary Warship, page 273:

     Another problem was bureaucratic: the transfer of the ship required, literally, an act of Congress. It was an agonizing process that ground along for twenty-six months, through the tenures of three secretaries of the navy, two presidents, and two mayors of New York.

2. (literally, US politics) A statute enacted by the United States Congress.

Further reading

• act of Congress on Wikipedia.Wikipedia