[Idiom] put a cap on something

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello Alan, Mister Micawber, Beeesneees, Mordant, Esl_Expert and other native English speakers,

idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put+a+cap+on
put a cap on something
to put a limit on something

  • We need to [color=red]put a cap on spending in every department.
  • The city [color=green]put a cap on the amount each landlord could charge.

Can I say “restrict” or “limit” in place of [color=red]put a cap on?
Can I say “restricted” or “limited” in place of [color=green]put a cap on?

Here are my sentences:

  • The children must put a cap on the time they watch TV a day.
  • The children must restrict the time they watch TV a day.
  • The children must limit the time they watch TV a day.

Are these all fine?

2

You are correct on all of this.

3

Thank you, Mordant.

The children must put a cap on the [color=red]time they watch TV a day.

Is [color=red]time fine as it is? Is “time length” good?

4

“Time” is fine. You can’t restrict or limit time in any way but length, right? You can’t with “put a cap” anyway.

5

“The children must put a cap on the length of time they watch TV in a day.” would work.
Personally, in this example I’d find it unlikely that the children ‘capped’ their own TV viewing, and suspect the actual case would be more likely to be:
“The parents put a cap on the length of time in a day that the children were allowed to watch TV.” :slight_smile:

6

Good point, Bees. The children, like me when I was younger, found ways to sneak and watch it after it was capped. :slight_smile: