Waiting for official authorization or consent before proceeding to the next stage.
From Latin 'pendere' meaning 'to hang,' suggesting something suspended or waiting. Combined with 'approval,' it became standard bureaucratic language in the 20th century to describe the liminal state between completion and official acceptance.
This phrase captures the peculiar anxiety of modern bureaucracy - your work is done, but you're still not free. It's like being a student who's finished an exam but must wait for the grade, suspended between accomplishment and official recognition.
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