Choose the correct definition a, b or c.
a) to bring a project forward
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b) to postpone a project
Well done ! That’s the right answer.
If something is on the back burner, then it is not urgent, it is not a high priority issue.
The phrase is used to mean you are pausing work on one project or task so as to focus on other, more urgent ones.
When cooking, the back burner is where you keep the pot that doesn’t need immediate attention.
This idiom tends to be used with ’put’, ’leave’, ’keep’ and ’stay’.
French translation
mettre en veille, passer/reléguer un sujet au second rang, mettre en attente, remettre à plus tard
How NOT to translate into French : *mettre un projet sur le brûleur du fond
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Examples in the press
War Puts Climate Change on the Back Burner
Global action against climate change faces another setback.
With declining Russian gas supplies threatening European energy security, Group of Seven leaders are jettisoning a commitment to stop financing overseas fossil-fuel projects by the end of year, while insisting they will still stick to the pledges made at COP26 last year in Glasgow.
Bloomberg, 28 juin 2022
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Everyday usage
I think it best to put hiring a new Project Manager on the back burner until the department has approved the last quarter’s budget.
This question was broached but then put on theback burner.
Claramedia, 21 Oct. 2022
c) to cancel a project
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