paper-pushing
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a word derived from
paper-pusher.
paper-pushernouna person who has a routine desk job.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Was Putin some kind of super-spy, or more of a paper-pushing bureaucrat?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
But Parekh said Elsheikh and the other Beatles were far more than paper-pushing functionaries.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2022
At first, The Office, like the British series on which it was based, took a cynical view of the 9-to-5 grind: It was all literal paper-pushing.
From Slate ● May 29, 2020
That’s because it takes roughly 24 hours of lab work and paper-pushing to set everything up; felicitously, 2 a.m. also happens to be when operating rooms are free of scheduled surgery.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2019
Doing that might well reduce some of the country’s health care spending that is going toward insurer profits and paper-pushing.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2016