like turkeys voting for Christmas
短语
英 /laɪk ˌtɜːkiz ˈvəʊtɪŋ fə ˈkɹɪsməs/
美 /laɪk ˌtɝkiz ˈvoʊtɪŋ fɚ ˈkɹɪsməs/|[-ɾɪŋ-]
英文释义
短语
-
Self-defeating; serving to bring about a situation detrimental to the performer of the action.
— The next morning [14 December 1977] the Liberals held a two-and-a-half meeting at which Steel let them have their head. Only two MPs, Howells and Johnston, said they were willing to continue the Pact. The opponents were delighted. […] ‘Us voting for the Pact is like a turkey voting for Christmas’, said David Penhaligon
词源
Because turkeys are commonly eaten at Christmas, turkeys voting for (an early) Christmas would be hastening their own death. The phrase is thought to have been coined by the British Liberal Party politician David Penhaligon (1944–1986) who used it to express opposition to the 1977 Lib–Lab pact. It was popularized by the British Prime Minister James Callaghan (1912–2005) who used it in the House of Commons in March 1979 when his Labour Party lost a vote of no confidence: see the 1977 and 1979 quotations.
6 次浏览
数据来源: Wiktionary