Turkeys Voting for Christmas

Turkey is a traditional Christmas holiday meal in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. No one asks turkey birds themselves whether they believe Christmas is a good thing. If anyone was to put Christmas to a vote among turkeys, it is strongly assumed turkeys would vote Christmas out of existence.

This silly scenario gives rise to the idiom, "Turkeys voting for Christmas." In other words, this is an idiom for people voting against their own best interests, individually and as a group. This is usually brought up in the context of how people, as a rule, don't vote for something obviously against their own interests.

Example: "From the sublime to the ridiculous, Greek newspaper reports have it that Prime Minister George Papandreou has threatened to call a referendum on the austerity measures if he cannot secure political agreement. The story has been denied, but it demonstrates how desperate the situation has become. Mr Papandreou is in such a fix that he was thinking of relying on the idea that turkeys really would vote for Christmas." Original link here.

We are expected to take from this paragraph that Greek voters cannot be seriously expected to vote for more austerity measures (budget cuts, cuts in benefits to government employees, and so forth) to please the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and so forth. (Also note that "in such a fix" means in a desperate situation, i.e. a political stalemate with opposition parties.)

Put simpler, we can assume turkeys would not really vote in favor of Christmas, and that Greeks would not really vote in favor of more austerity, if either group was allowed a vote.

Sound Bites

In journalism, a sound bite is a short clip of audio from an event that is the subject of a news report. A bite is, idiomatically, a small and digestible thing.

In politics, a sound bite is an excerpt of a speech that is used without surrounding context. Politicians intend for sound bites to give flattering portrayals of their speeches, and themselves, and are a core part of one's image in the media.

Example: "Professional speech-writers for presidents and other high public officials are careful to include specific sound bites that the media will use to highlight their speeches."

A careful reader may realize that the same phrase may be a sound bite in both the literal and the figurative senses. They're different things to different people.

Since politicians know in advance that reporters will largely reduce a speech to its sound bites, and at any rate, sound bites offer the politician's best opportunities to actually have their voices and faces broadcast on TV or radio, politicians "offer" sound bites to the media as if it is a familiar religious ritual. Understanding what a sound bite is, and the context that comes with it, is important to understanding even basic stories about journalism and politics in the English-speaking world.

Draconian

The adjective "draconian" is an idiom for particularly harsh laws. It is a reference to Draco, the legislator (in this instance, the writer of written laws) in ancient Athens in the 7th century B.C.

Example: "The disgraced banker was dramatically granted bail last night under draconian conditions as it emerged he will face a trial for his alleged sex attack on a hotel maid."

Draco's laws put lower class debtors into slavery, and the penalty for even minor offenses was death. When asked why, he replied that he could think of no lesser punishment for the minor crimes, and unfortunately, he did not have any greater punishment available for the greater crimes. (!) So yes, Draco was not playing around.

In this context, the use of "draconian" in the example above evokes the phrase, in the American constitution, cruel and unusual punishment, but the word can be used to exaggerate circumstances. (This writer believes that the above use is stretching the word very thin, but it is an example of how English writers will use the word. - J)

Suffering A New Blow

In this case, "suffering a new blow" is blow in the sense of an attack, a strike, a hit. A new blow means a new and additional setback to a cause. This is "suffered" by the person or entity damaged by the blow. 


Example: "Gordon Brown's prospects of taking over at the IMF suffered another blow today as Business Secretary Vince Cable suggested the top job should go to someone from within the Eurozone." 


In this example, the event described is another setback making former UK Prime Minister Gorden Brown's efforts to become head of the International Monetary Fund less likely to succeed. The context is continued vigorous opposition to Brown's candidacy by both coalition partners forming the sitting government of his own country. The more opposed the government becomes, the less likely Brown will succeed. Thus, another major cabinet minister opposing his candidacy is a new setback, i.e. a new blow.  

Into Thin Air

There are various words added to "into thin air" to create expressions with very similar meanings.

If something evaporates into thin air, it is gone forever; it is gone with the wind.

If something vanishes into thin air, it is lost, but not necessarily lost forever.

Disappears into thin air means the same thing as "vanishes into thin air," per the above.

Gone With the Wind

While famous as the title of a novel and movie, the expression "gone with the wind" simply means disappeared, evaporated, vanished, gone forever.

Example: "Thanks to the collapse in housing prices, our profit margin has gone with the wind. Until conditions improve, our outlook is poor." This means that the company in question has seen its profits evaporate.

Mixed Messages

When we refer to "mixed messages," this means confusing, contradictory, inconsistent messages (plural) where a single, clear message is called for.


Example: Paul: "So this girl, first she screams that she hates me, then she calls me at 2 in the morning! Talk about your mixed messages! Does she love me or hate me?!"

While primarily an idiom in social situations, it can be cited in any similar situation regardless of the context.