Definition of "shovel-ready" [shovel-ready]

• Ready for immediate commencement of excavation and construction. (adjective)

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• "How many times were we using the phrase shovel-ready just two years ago?"
• "Afterall, the first stimulus plan to provide jobs through so-called "shovel-ready" projects hasn't done much to bring unemployment below 9 percent."
• "But federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood opted to spend nearly all the available funds cash on construction and manufacturing - in other words, what used to be called "shovel-ready" projects."