sufficiently close; done just well enough. (Alludes to the notion that work for the government is not done with care or pride.) I didn't do the best job of mending your shirt, but it's close enough for government work.

Prov. Those who are in power can always catch and punish people who have opposed them, no matter how far away those opponents may go. After his attempt to assassinate the king, the prince sailed to a distant country, although his wife warned him it would be to no avail. "Kings have long arms," she reminded him.