(US, derogatory) A silly, pointless exercise.
It released an album, _Circles_, in 2007.[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_fire_drill#cite_note-18) The album uses different musical foundations in each song, such that it is "chaotic or confusing", like…
For the uninitiated, a "Chinese fire drill" can be described as a form of vehicular musical chairs.
(US, derogatory) A silly, pointless exercise.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.
(idiomatic, US) Any pointless, unproductive, useless, or chaotic activity.
A panicked, all-hands work session triggered by a senior leader getting upset about something. Usually disconnected from real priorities. The ironic reuse of the literal phrase signals nothing is on fire — somebody is just yelling.
A fire-starting tool consisting of a wooden rod and some primitive means of rapidly rotating the rod on a flat surface like a drill until tinder can be ignited.
(slang) The prank of grabbing a victim's forearm in both hands and twisting the skin in opposite directions causing a sharp, stinging sensation.
If people can't see the racism in "Chinese fire drill" then the article should point it out, as in the "Saturday night special article".
(US) A prank performed while stopped in a car at a red light, and where each passenger, including the driver, shouts "Chinese fire drill", exits the vehicle, runs at least once around it, then re-enters, each taking a different seat.
"Chinese fire drill" means a prank performed while stopped in a car at a red light, and where each passenger, including the driver, shouts "chinese fire drill", exits the vehicle, runs at least once around it, then re-enters, each taking a different seat. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"Chinese fire drill" is informal English meaning a prank performed while stopped in a car at a red light, and where each passenger, including the driver, shouts "chinese fire drill", exits the vehicle, runs at least once around it, then re-enters, each taking a different seat. It is mainly used in North American English. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "a prank performed while stopped in a car at a red light" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "Chinese fire drill" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing.
“It released an album, _Circles_, in 2007.[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_fire_drill#cite_note-18) The album uses different musical foundations in each song, such that it is "chaotic or confusing", like a Chinese fire drill.”
“For the uninitiated, a "Chinese fire drill" can be described as a form of vehicular musical chairs.”
“If people can't see the racism in "Chinese fire drill" then the article should point it out, as in the "Saturday night special article".”
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