trade turkeys
v. phr.— Note: “Turkey” is a long-standing slang word for something or someone that performs poorly. A synonym for “trading turkeys” is dance of the lemons. A related term, also mentioned in the article cited here, is rubber room, where teachers who are lemons or turkeys spend their days while waiting disciplinary action. «I’ve seen firsthand how exasperatingly difficult it has been for principals to oust abusive, incapable or negligent teachers who are protected by a powerful union. Instead, some principals would privately agree to swap problem teachers in a process known as “trading turkeys.”» —“Where Teachers Sit, Awaiting Their Fates” by Samuel G. Freedman New York Times Oct. 10, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital is a sensuous, exhilarating meditation about the strangeness of life on a space station, with its mix of tedious tasks and jaw-dropping views. And: a musician who rode the rails in his youth shares the slang he...
Steve, a singer-songwriter from Rock Springs, Wyoming, shares some slang he picked up while months riding the rails and busking. Spanging refers to panhandling, from asking for “spare change.” The term bull refers to a type of security...