Official: “It just says the Minister has asked me to thank you for your letter and we say something like ‘the matter is under consideration’ or, even if we feel so inclined, ‘under active consideration’.”
Minister: “What’s the difference?”
Official: Well, under consideration means we’ve lost the file, under active consideration means we’re trying to find it.”
– From the TV sitcom Yes Minister, scripted by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn