开绿灯

開綠燈

kāilǜdēng

idiom #48,321

Meanings

不能给不合格产品上市开绿灯。

Bùnéng gěi bùhé gé chǎnpǐn shàngshì kāilǜdēng.

We can't give substandard products a green light to go to market.

上级为这个项目开了绿灯，资金很快到位。

Shàngjí wèi zhège xiàngmù kāi le lǜdēng, zījīn hěnkuài dàowèi.

The higher-ups green-lit this project and the funds came through quickly.

海关对急救物资一路开绿灯。

Hǎiguān duì jíjiù wùzī yīlù kāilǜdēng.

Customs cleared the emergency supplies straight through.

usage

Modern and instantly intelligible — the traffic-light metaphor maps directly onto English. 给...开绿灯 is the standard frame.

开 kāi

绿 lǜ

灯 dēng