In British politics, the wash-up (usually "the wash-up", or "the wash-up period") is the short stretch of days between the moment an election is announced and the moment Parliament actually closes down. Everyone knows they are about to run out of time, so the government and the opposition parties quietly agree on which unfinished bills can still be pushed through.

In British politics在英國政治裡， the wash-up (usually "the wash-up", or "the wash-up period")（通常說 the wash-up 或 the wash-up period） is是 the moment an election is announced宣布選舉的那一刻 and和 the moment Parliament actually closes down國會真正關門的那一刻 between之間 the short stretch of days短短的那一段日子。 Everyone knows每個人都知道 they are about to run out of time時間快用完了， so所以 the government政府 and the opposition parties和在野各黨 quietly悄悄 agree on說好 which unfinished bills哪些沒做完的法案 can still be pushed through還能被推過去。

The price of that speed is that the parties have to bargain: some bills are dropped completely, others are stripped of their controversial parts, and what survives passes with very little debate. That is why journalists and campaigners are often uneasy about it — real laws get made in a hurry, behind closed doors, with no one watching closely.

that speed那種速度 The price of的代價是： the parties各黨 have to bargain必須討價還價： some bills有些法案 are dropped completely被整個放掉， others另一些 are stripped of被拔掉 their controversial parts有爭議的部分， and what survives而活下來的那些， with very little debate幾乎沒有辯論地 passes就通過了。 That is why這就是為什麼 journalists and campaigners記者和倡議者 are often uneasy about it常對它不安 — real laws真正的法律 in a hurry匆匆忙忙、 behind closed doors關起門來、 with no one watching closely沒有人盯著地 get made就被做出來了。

This is a specialist word from news and politics; ordinary British people also use "wash-up" for the everyday job of washing the dishes after a meal, and in business English a "wash-up meeting" is a short meeting after a project finishes to talk about how it went. Same spelling, quite different worlds.

This這 is是 from news and politics新聞和政治圈的 a specialist word專門用語； ordinary British people一般英國人 also也 use "wash-up"用 wash-up for指 after a meal飯後 washing the dishes洗碗 the everyday job of的日常家事， and in business English而在商業英文裡 a "wash-up meeting"是 after a project finishes專案結束後、 to talk about how it went談談做得如何的 a short meeting一個短會。 Same spelling同樣的拼法， quite different worlds很不一樣的世界。