ONE GOOD SAYING.

When I was younger, I was always hanging around while my dad and my uncles were building stuff. My father is a real handyman, a do-it-yourselfer. He built a cabin, our garage, decks; he had a side business building jungle-gyms for people. And I guess he gets that talent from my grandpa, who was in construction for 50-some years. While I didn't get all of that ability (most of my work is done with duct-tape), I did pick up a great saying:

"Close enough for government work."

The original phrase "good enough for government work" was used to imply something would pass a rigorous inspection. It was good enough for your mother, father, son or daughter; it was good enough for your country. But since the original coining of the phrase, it has been altered slightly and taken on a meaning that's almost opposite.

"Close enough for government work," as my father and uncles and grandpa use it, means that while not perfect, it'll do the job. It was my understanding, reached by my own logic and zero research, that this stems from construction companies being rewarded government contracts at inflated prices, for work they would do in the cheapest, quickest possible manner. If someone refers to something as "close enough for government work," I understand it to mean, "it ain't perfect, but we can move on."

I love that phrase.

wikipedia explains it