And that means there’s no conditionality, they’re not conditional on receiving technology or financing, there’s no trap doors, there’s no Swiss cheese in that kind of an agreement.

My comments:

Swiss cheese is a kind of cheese that has large holes in it. Well, not all Swiss cheeses have holes in them, but what Switzerland is famous for in the cheese department is this firm pale yellow kind, the kind with large holes therein.

Hence, the long and short of it is, Swiss cheese gets to stand for, figuratively speaking, holes, or loopholes, as in laws which allow you to avoid doing what you’re supposed to do.

Another media example (Volcker: Rule is no Swiss cheese, CityAM.com, June 22, 2010):

WHITE House economic adviser Paul Volcker has told US lawmakers they should not allow his proposed Volcker rule limiting risky trading by banks to become filled with holes.

“He has told several people, including some lawmakers, that he does not want the Volcker rule to look like Swiss cheese.”

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Free rein

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Cross one’s path

Tribute projects

Off the beaten track

At the forefront of

Seat warmer

The rule of the jungle

On-the-go

On the fence

Wild guess

In the high teens

Touch up

Unforced error

Catch a break

City slicker

Political correctness

Gee up

Big mind

Blanket statement

Making knee-jerk changes is not in our DNA

Pick one's brains

A good eye

Thank one's stars for

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Nodding acquaintance

Flip out over nothing

Bury the hatchet& have an ax to grind

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Fleeting acquaintance

All-weather friend

Lead the pack

Fish or cut bait

Gilt-edged

To do more with less

Right down the middle

Take my word for it

40-sometimes

Last but not the least

Call it a dog

Pull my leg

Ego bath

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點，與本網(wǎng)立場無關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。

About the author:

Zhang Xin（張欣） has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.