Expressions – Is ‘Waived It Through’ Correct English?

british-englishexpressions

This article from the Guardian newspaper includes the following phrase:

The Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, said it was too late for Conservative backbenchers to be putting up resistance to a hard Brexit. “This is the biggest act of economic self harm in history and some Tory MPs are grasping at any straw they can find to assuage their consciences. They, like Corbyn have waived this through and history will judge them for it,” he said.

I always thought that waved it through would be correct here. Which is right?

Best Answer

Yes, it is wave something through. "Waive" is probably is a typo here:

to give permission or approval for something immediately and often without checking or considering it properly.

  • Most countries have waved the legislation through.

(MacMillan Dictionary)

Usage Note:

  • Waive is sometimes confused with wave. Waive means ‘refrain from insisting on or demanding’, as in he will waive all rights to the money or her fees would be waived, whereas the much more common word wave means ‘move to and fro’. A waiver is a document recording that a right or claim has been waived, whereas to waver is to move in a quivering way or be undecided between two alternatives.

(ODO)

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