kicked the can down the road

Verb

kick the can down the road (third-person singular simple present kicks the can down the road, present participle kicking the can down the road, simple past and past participle kicked the can down the road)

1. (idiomatic, informal) To avoid or postpone a decision or action; to procrastinate.
   • Ronald Lehman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategic and theater nuclear bombs, said the United States was satisfied with its land-based deterrent for many years and "there was a tendency to kick the can down the road and not pay enough attention to its problems.1983 April 5, “Will MX Succeed This Time?”, in Bennington Banner, Bennington, VT, page 8

   Synonyms:

   adjourn, avert, defer, delay, dilly-dally, draw out, extend, forslow, forestall, forestay