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Glite Dictionary
🛠️ A cylinder tool 🗑️ A trash can
round file

round file

7.8
A joking name for a trash can where unwanted papers go
  • noun
  • Informal
translation icon : papelera
  • Whenever my boss rejects a report, it usually ends up in the round file.

Examples

  • The proposal went straight to the round file.

  • If your application isn't complete, it's likely to go straight to the round file.

  • He made a joke about adding my suggestion to the round file.

  • Please throw that report into the round file.

  • After reviewing the suggestions, she decided to toss the least viable option into the round file.

  • His recommendations were considered unnecessary, so they went directly to the round file.

  • The team joked that any unfeasible ideas would just end up in the round file.

Synonyms

wastebasket
vsround file
  • US
15 1.0

A container with an open top for holding paper and small bits of rubbish

is a joking office phrase rather than the literal physical container
circular file
vsround file
  • Informal
7.5

A joke name for a wastebasket where unwanted papers go

is a playful office euphemism implying an item is discarded

Surface Forms

round file singular
round files plural

Morphology

round + file

The sense ‘a trash can’ cannot be compositionally derived from 'round' (circular) + 'file' (a tool or even a document file); the phrase is a humorous/euphemistic idiom used in office contexts rather than a literal description. Because the meaning is idiomatic and requires pragmatic/folk knowledge of the euphemism, a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would unlikely infer it without prior exposure.

Etymology

Round file is a joking name for a 'trash can' or 'wastebasket'. The picture to remember is papers thrown into a round bin, so if something goes to the round file it means it is 'thrown away' or rejected.