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Reader question: Please explain “kicking the can down the road” in this passage (The Economist, July 19, 2017): America’s House of Representatives passed a temporary patch to fund federal highway projects after months of delay had put hundreds of thousands of construction jobs at risk. But Barack Obama said that Congress was merely “kicking the can down the road”; he has proposed a $300 billion transportation programme to repair America’s crumbling infrastructure. My comments: By saying that Congress was merely “kicking the can down the road”, Barack Obama was criticizing America’s lawmakers for shirking their duties and obligation. “Kicking the can down the road”, you see, means avoiding doing their job now and putting it off till later. Obama has proposed a $300 billion transportation programme to repair America’s crumbling infrastructure, but the House of Representatives have not given its approval after months of delay. Perhaps many representatives don’t want that much money to be spent on roads, or perhaps some, especially Republican members of Congress, just don’t support any proposal raised by Obama, a Democrat. Whatever the case, they’re been accused of playing a stalling game, in other words playing for time. They’re likened by Obama to kids kicking the can down the road. What can? What road? Any can, any road. | 
