A Chinese fire drill is a slang term that has been used by Westerners for more than a century, and is today considered offensive or racist. It is used to describe any situation that is chaotic or confusing.
It is also used to describe an American college prank (also known as red-light green-light) performed by a vehicle's occupants when stopped at a traffic light, especially when there is a need to change drivers or get something from the trunk. Before the light changes to green, each occupant gets out, runs around the vehicle, and gets back inside (but not necessarily in his or her original seat). If one of the participants lags, the others may drive off without him or her.
Less commonly, a Chinese fire drill may refer to a literal fire drill on a school bus or the aforementioned gag executed by misbehaving students on a stopped school bus, sometimes involving use of the rear emergency exit.
Read more about Chinese Fire Drill: Origins
Famous quotes containing the words fire and/or drill:
“Prosecutors insist they are mounting a “thorough investigation,” which sometimes means thorough and sometimes, historically, has meant long enough to let the fire burn down in an incendiary case. A thorough investigation is fine; an interminable one is disgraceful.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.”
—Stephen Crane (1871–1900)