English · Slang Attested

government stroke

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

The deliberately slow pace of work supposed to be typical of government workers.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Tốc độ làm việc chậm có chủ ý của công nhân chính phủ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Australian English

Examples

Why not just leave things as they are and say, "We are going to run this government organisation efficiently; we are going to make sure that the government stroke has disappeared, that the managers are on the ball and that the customers get good service".

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

The amount work that a convict was required to complete each day.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Số lượng công việc mà một phạm nhân phải hoàn thành mỗi ngày

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “government stroke” mean?

The deliberately slow pace of work supposed to be typical of government workers.

Is “government stroke” formal or informal?

government stroke is generally slang.