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Chinese fire drill

American

noun

Slang: Usually Offensive.

a state of chaotic, often clamorous disorder.

Sensitive Note

Etymology

Origin of Chinese fire drill

Probably earlier than 1960–65

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.