T-learning # Idiom
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revolving door

Choose the correct definition a, b or c.

a) stable

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b) velocious

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c) fast-changing

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If you say that a situation is a revolving door, you mean that people or other things are continuously coming and going, rather than staying somewhere. If you talk about the revolving door of an organisation., you mean that the people working in it do not stay there for very long.

You can use the revolving door to refer to a situation where solutions to problems only last for a short time, and then the same problems occur again.

You can also use ’revolving-door’ before a noun, to talk about a revolving-door syndrome, a revolving-door system or process.

The phrase is primarily heard in US.

French translation

porte tambour, porte tournante, chaises musicales

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Examples in context

‘Watchdog slams EU defence agency over ’revolving door’ case

The EU Ombudsman said on Thursday the European Defense Agency should have forbidden its former chief executive, Jorge Domecq, from becoming a strategic advisor at the company Airbus Defence. The ombudsman found that the conditions attached to approving his new position were "insufficient" against the risks of lobbying. This inquiry is part of a wider investigation on how ethical obligations apply when EU staff move to the private sector.’

EUOBSERVER, 16 July 2021

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‘Column : ‘Catch and release’ of Orland Park retail theft suspect highlights serious concern in suburbs

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau praised police and criticized Cook County prosecutors when asked about a recent Police Department Facebook post that seemed to make light of a woman arrested on suspicion of retail theft while on electronic monitoring after being released from custody for previous retail theft charges.
The southwest suburb thrust itself into a red-hot debate about bond reform and other criminal justice issues. The post prompted nearly 300 comments, with many accusing the county of being a “revolving door” for offenders waltzing through a “catch and release” system.’
Chicago Tribune, 22 July 2021

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Everyday usage

The department was a revolving door for top leaders, as 10 directors came and went over a dozen years.

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EnglishTonic and Claramedia, 31 July 2021


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