Volume XLI: Thanksgiving

Here are some turkey-adjacent expressions in honor of Thursday’s feast. Wishing all a Happy Thanksgiving!

I. Ridin’ The Gravy Train 🚂

A century ago, folks used “gravy” as slang for anything easy, like a stress free job, a lucky break or a getting paired vs the old guy in singles.

Railroad workers eventually adopted it up and threw it around for their shortest routes, dubbing them the gravy trains.

So next time you tell your once-blue-collared grandpa about your remote internship, know he’s justified to break this one out.

II. Turkey (Bowling) 🎳

In the late 1800s, well before PrizePicks and DraftKings, bowling alleys ran their own holiday promotions. No rigged odds, this was real deal: bowl three strikes and take home a frozen turkey.

Some of the other holiday or seasonal sweepstakes faded—hams, pies, boxes of coins—but the turkey trotted along.

Soon, the term was picked up by bowlers and leagues alike, cementing it in the sport’s vernacular.

III. Talk Turkey 🗣️

Back in early American markets, haggling over poultry was serious business. Sellers and buyers would “talk turkey” when it was time to cut the fluff and get down to the real numbers—no jokes or stories, just the price of the bird.

Over time, the phrase jumped from the marketplace into everyday language, coming to mean getting serious, speaking plainly, or hashing out the real issue.

Perfect for the uncle at the Thanksgiving table that wants nothing to do with the pleasantry’s and jumps straight into politics.

Fun fact: the first Turkey Trot was held at a Buffalo YMCA in 1896 with just six runners. It has run every year since, making it North America’s oldest continuous public footrace.

Oh, and forward this to a friend you’re thankful for :)