Red tape, meaning excessive and often unnecessary paperwork, rules, regulations and formalities which hinder or prevent effective actions and decisions, is a term that has been with us since the 17th century. It originates from the practice of binding legal and official documents in red cloth tape.
The first recorded reference of the term is in the 1696-1715 Maryland Laws:
"The Map upon the Backside thereof sealed with his Excellency's Seal at Arms on a Red Cross with Red Tape."
Apparently the 80 or so petitions for divorce that Henry VIII sent to the Pope in respect of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon are still stored neatly in the Vatican, each still bound in its original red tape.
