Idiom – Like turkeys voting for Christmas

• British English Idiom – Like turkeys voting for Christmas or Like turkeys voting for Xmas
• Meaning – This expression is used to describe a situation when people accept something that will have negative consequences for them in the future. This idiom is frequently used in a political context; when people choose to vote for something that will make life worse.
• In the USA people might use Like turkeys voting for Thanksgiving or Like chickens voting for Colonel Sanders.
• A turkey is a large bird commonly eaten on Christmas day and at Thanksgiving.
• Xmas is a slang expression for Christmas.

Example:

• “The train drivers voting to accept a pay decrease would be like turkeys voting for Christmas!”

Listen:

In The News:

Wales and the Brexit vote: a case of turkeys voting for Christmas?

Discuss:

• Is there an idiom like this in your country?

What is an idiom?

An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally.  An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.