turkey trot
- noun
- /ˈtɜrki trɑt/
- Archaic
:
turkey trot
- In the ballroom, couples performed the turkey trot to lively ragtime music.
Examples
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The turkey trot was considered quite scandalous when it first became popular in the 1910s.
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Many couples enjoyed the turkey trot at the dance hall.
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Historians noted that the turkey trot influenced later social dances.
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The turkey trot was a popular dance in the 1920s.
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In the ballroom, couples performed the turkey trot to lively ragtime music.
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Historians noted that the turkey trot influenced later social dances.
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The turkey trot was considered quite scandalous when it first became popular in the 1910s.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The pieces 'turkey' (a bird strongly associated with Thanksgiving) and 'trot' (a short run) give a clear hint that the phrase refers to a running event, but the specific convention of a Thanksgiving fun run/charity race is culturally specific and not fully predictable from the words alone. A B1 learner who knows both words might guess it involves running and turkeys, but they would likely miss the conventionalised event meaning without cultural exposure.
Etymology
Turkey trot may come from the bird and the dance's quick steps: one popular story says dancers moved with short, jerky steps like a turkey's trot. So the name came to mean a lively dance with a trotting, jerky motion.
