Thanksgiving is a special day in the United States. Families come together to share food, talk, and show thanks. People enjoy big meals, often with turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie. But Thanksgiving is not just about food. It is also about showing kindness, helping others, and being thankful for what we have.
Sometimes, people use fun or special phrases to talk about Thanksgiving. These phrases are called idioms. They do not mean exactly what the words say. For example, someone might say, “Talk turkey,” which means to speak honestly. In this article, we will learn more about Thanksgiving idioms. These will help you understand what others are saying and make your own talking more interesting too.
Idioms about Thanksgiving
1. Talk turkey
Meaning: Speak honestly and seriously
Give an Instance: It’s time to talk turkey about the chores. / Let’s talk turkey about your grades.
Substitute Meaning: Be real / Say the truth
2. Stuffed to the gills
Meaning: Very full from eating
Give an Instance: I was stuffed to the gills after Thanksgiving dinner. / He felt stuffed to the gills after eating three slices of pie.
Substitute Meaning: Very full / Ate too much
3. Count your blessings
Meaning: Be thankful for what you have
Give an Instance: Instead of being sad, count your blessings. / She counted her blessings when everyone came to dinner safely.
Substitute Meaning: Be thankful / Think about the good
4. Cold turkey
Meaning: To stop doing something suddenly
Give an Instance: He quit soda cold turkey. / She gave up video games cold turkey.
Substitute Meaning: Stop fast / Quit right away
5. Turkey trot
Meaning: A fun Thanksgiving race or run
Give an Instance: We joined the turkey trot before lunch. / She trained for the turkey trot all week.
Substitute Meaning: Holiday race / Fun run
6. Gravy train
Meaning: Easy way to get money or rewards
Give an Instance: He’s riding the gravy train with that easy job. / She got on the gravy train after winning the prize.
Substitute Meaning: Easy reward / Good deal
7. Gobble up
Meaning: To eat quickly
Give an Instance: They gobbled up the pumpkin pie. / I gobbled up my mashed potatoes.
Substitute Meaning: Eat fast / Finish food quickly
8. Feast your eyes
Meaning: Look at something amazing
Give an Instance: Feast your eyes on the big turkey! / She said “Feast your eyes” when showing her new dress.
Substitute Meaning: Look and enjoy / See something cool
9. Blessing in disguise
Meaning: Something good that seemed bad at first
Give an Instance: Missing the bus was a blessing in disguise I got a ride. / Her broken oven was a blessing in disguise they went out to eat.
Substitute Meaning: Hidden good thing / Surprise help
10. Eat like a bird
Meaning: Eat very little
Give an Instance: She eats like a bird at Thanksgiving. / He eats like a bird and only took two bites.
Substitute Meaning: Eat small / Not much food
11. Eat like a horse
Meaning: Eat a lot
Give an Instance: He eats like a horse on holidays. / She ate like a horse after the parade.
Substitute Meaning: Eat tons / Big appetite
12. Full plate
Meaning: Having a lot to do
Give an Instance: Mom has a full plate cooking dinner. / I had a full plate helping with the decorations.
Substitute Meaning: Busy / Lots going on
13. Pass the buck
Meaning: Avoid responsibility
Give an Instance: He passed the buck and blamed his sister. / She passed the buck when the pie got burned.
Substitute Meaning: Blame others / Not take the blame
14. The proof is in the pudding
Meaning: You won’t know until you try
Give an Instance: Let’s taste the stuffing the proof is in the pudding. / She said the proof is in the pudding about her plan working.
Substitute Meaning: Try and see / Wait and find out
15. Break bread
Meaning: Eat together, often as friends or family
Give an Instance: We broke bread with our neighbors. / Thanksgiving is a time to break bread with loved ones.
Substitute Meaning: Share a meal / Eat together
16. Sweet tooth
Meaning: A love for sweet foods
Give an Instance: He has a sweet tooth and ate three desserts. / Her sweet tooth made her ask for more pie.
Substitute Meaning: Loves sweets / Wants sugar
17. Put all your eggs in one basket
Meaning: Risk everything on one plan
Give an Instance: He put all his eggs in one basket by cooking just one dish. / She put all her eggs in one basket for the contest.
Substitute Meaning: Take a big risk / Rely on one thing
18. Apple of my eye
Meaning: Someone special
Give an Instance: My grandma says I’m the apple of her eye. / The baby was the apple of everyone’s eye.
Substitute Meaning: Favorite person / Very loved
19. Easy as pie
Meaning: Very simple
Give an Instance: Helping clean up was easy as pie. / Making place cards was easy as pie.
Substitute Meaning: Super easy / No trouble
20. Second helping
Meaning: More food after the first plate
Give an Instance: He asked for a second helping of stuffing. / She got a second helping of pie.
Substitute Meaning: Extra food / Another round
21. Talk over dinner
Meaning: Discuss things while eating
Give an Instance: We talked over dinner about our plans. / She brought up her idea over dinner.
Substitute Meaning: Chat while eating / Dinner talk
22. Go cold
Meaning: Food that’s no longer warm
Give an Instance: Hurry up or your food will go cold. / The turkey went cold during the speech.
Substitute Meaning: Not warm / Cooled off
23. Bring to the table
Meaning: Offer ideas or help
Give an Instance: He brings great ideas to the table. / What can you bring to the table for Thanksgiving?
Substitute Meaning: Offer / Share something
24. Table talk
Meaning: Light or fun chat during meals
Give an Instance: The table talk was about funny school stories. / We played table talk games.
Substitute Meaning: Fun talk / Meal-time chat
25. Leftovers
Meaning: Food saved for later
Give an Instance: We had leftovers the next day. / She packed leftovers for lunch.
Substitute Meaning: Extra food / Saved food
26. Too many cooks
Meaning: Too many people trying to help
Give an Instance: Too many cooks were in the kitchen making a mess. / Thanksgiving dinner got messy with too many cooks.
Substitute Meaning: Too much help / Everyone tries at once
27. Bless this mess
Meaning: A kind way to talk about a messy place
Give an Instance: Bless this mess, the kitchen was wild. / She laughed and said “bless this mess” after dinner.
Substitute Meaning: Funny way to accept mess / Kind joke
28. Spill the beans
Meaning: Tell a secret
Give an Instance: He spilled the beans about the surprise. / She spilled the beans on the turkey recipe.
Substitute Meaning: Tell it all / Share a secret
29. Bite off more than you can chew
Meaning: Take on too much
Give an Instance: I bit off more than I could chew baking three pies. / He tried to cook and decorate and bit off too much.
Substitute Meaning: Took on too much / Too big a job
30. All the fixings
Meaning: Everything that goes with the meal
Give an Instance: We had turkey with all the fixings. / Thanksgiving came with all the fixings this year.
Substitute Meaning: Full meal / Everything included
31. Dig in
Meaning: Start eating
Give an Instance: Grandpa said, “Dig in!” / Everyone smiled and dug in right away.
Substitute Meaning: Start eating / Begin the meal
32. Eat your heart out
Meaning: Show pride or make someone a little jealous
Give an Instance: She said “Eat your heart out” after showing her pie. / He said it when he showed his plate full of dessert.
Substitute Meaning: Look at this! / Be amazed
33. Fork it over
Meaning: Hand something over
Give an Instance: Fork it over, I want some pie. / She said “Fork it over” to get the mashed potatoes.
Substitute Meaning: Give it / Hand it here
34. Cry over spilled milk
Meaning: Be sad about something small
Give an Instance: Don’t cry over spilled milk just clean it up. / She cried over spilled milk when the pie fell.
Substitute Meaning: It’s okay / Small problem
35. Bread and butter
Meaning: What someone needs most
Give an Instance: Turkey is the bread and butter of Thanksgiving. / Family is the bread and butter of holidays.
Substitute Meaning: Most important / What matters
36. Bring home the bacon
Meaning: Earn money or help the family
Give an Instance: Dad brings home the bacon each week. / She brings home the bacon with her art sales.
Substitute Meaning: Help the family / Make money
37. Eat humble pie
Meaning: Admit you were wrong
Give an Instance: He had to eat humble pie after the turkey burned. / She ate humble pie when her idea didn’t work.
Substitute Meaning: Say sorry / Admit mistake
38. In a pickle
Meaning: In a hard situation
Give an Instance: I was in a pickle when the oven broke. / She was in a pickle with no whipped cream.
Substitute Meaning: In trouble / In a jam
39. As easy as pie
Meaning: Very easy to do
Give an Instance: Cutting the pie was as easy as pie. / Making the list was as easy as pie.
Substitute Meaning: Super simple / A breeze
40. Roast someone
Meaning: Joke with someone
Give an Instance: They roasted Grandpa with funny jokes. / He roasted his brother for dropping his pie.
Substitute Meaning: Joke around / Tease in fun
41. Pig out
Meaning: Eat a lot
Give an Instance: We pigged out on stuffing. / He pigged out and needed a nap.
Substitute Meaning: Eat too much / Stuff yourself
42. Burnt to a crisp
Meaning: Overcooked or too done
Give an Instance: The rolls were burnt to a crisp. / She left the turkey in too long it was burnt to a crisp.
Substitute Meaning: Overcooked / Very burnt
43. The icing on the cake
Meaning: Something extra nice
Give an Instance: The pie was the icing on the cake. / Getting a nap after dinner was the icing on the cake.
Substitute Meaning: Extra bonus / Nice surprise
44. Carve out time
Meaning: Make time for something
Give an Instance: We carved out time for a family walk. / She carved out time to help Grandma.
Substitute Meaning: Make time / Plan it
45. Food for thought
Meaning: An idea to think about
Give an Instance: That story gave me food for thought. / The teacher gave food for thought about kindness.
Substitute Meaning: Think about it / Something to consider
Find the Idioms – Idioms about Thanksgiving
Reading Passage
It was the day of the big Thanksgiving lunch at Lincoln Elementary. Everyone in Ms. Parker’s class brought something for the feast. Anna’s mom made a huge turkey with all the fixings, and Jayden’s family brought sweet potato pie. Ms. Parker told everyone to dig in once the food was ready.
Liam gobbled up his food so fast, people laughed. “Save room for dessert!” someone said. Mia, who had a sweet tooth, grabbed two slices of pie. “Don’t pig out,” her friend warned with a smile.
Later, Ms. Parker said, “Let’s count our blessings and share one thing we’re thankful for.” Everyone took turns. When it was Charlie’s turn, he spilled the beans about a surprise trip his family was taking. “Oops!” he said. “That was a secret!”
During cleanup, Ava said, “Let’s break bread again next week!” Ms. Parker smiled and said, “That’s food for thought.”
Just as they were packing up, the power went out. “Well, that’s the icing on the cake,” joked Jayden. Everyone laughed and used flashlights to clean the room.
Directions for Students
Read the story again. Find and underline or list all the idioms used in the passage.
Answer Key
- All the fixings
- Dig in
- Gobbled up
- Sweet tooth
- Pig out
- Count our blessigs
- Spilled the beans
- Break bread
- Food for thought
- Icing on the cake
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is a time for food, family, and showing thanks. Idioms about Thanksgiving help us talk about these things in fun and colorful ways. They don’t always mean what they sound like, but they add interest to our words.
By learning idioms like talk turkey or break bread, we can better understand conversations and share our own ideas more clearly. These phrases make speaking and writing more fun. Keep an ear out you might hear these idioms around the table this Thanksgiving.
