turkey shoot

turkey shoot

A fight or competition that is one-sided because one combatant or competitor is far superior to the other. What some predicted to be a long, arduous war ended up being a turkey shoot because the smaller country lacked adequate troops and firepower.
See also: shoot, turkey
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

a turkey shoot

A turkey shoot is a fight or contest where one side is so much stronger than the other that the weaker side has no chance of winning. The fighting stopped earlier than expected partly because of public anxiety at the turkey-shoot. The game was turning into a turkey shoot with Roberts blasting the ball past the goalkeeper. Note: This expression is usually used to suggest that the situation is unfair. Note: A turkey shoot is an occasion when people hunt turkeys, which are very easy to shoot.
See also: shoot, turkey
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • drive (one) out of office
  • force (one) out of office
  • force out of office
  • give (one) (one's) head
  • give head
  • give somebody their head
  • give someone their head
  • cooking for one
  • 1FTR
  • as one door closes, another (one) opens
References in periodicals archive
The annual Turkey Shoot golf tournament brought 112 golfers out to play at Springbrook and Naperbrook golf courses Nov.
But to if this one's likely to be a turkey shoot it should only serve as an appetiser for the game of the season.
16-18: Turkey Shoot at Park Point Athletic Club, Santa Rosa.
"My worry is that it will become like a yearly turkey shoot and I think it's often used as a stick to hit the BBC with" Simon Mayo on the BBC policy of publishing its employees' salaries.
Broadcaster Jo Whiley "My worry is that it will become like a yearly turkey shoot and I think it's often used as a stick to hit the BBC with."
"My worry is that it will become like a yearly turkey shoot and I think it's often used as a stick to hit the BBC with" - Broadcaster Simon Mayo, who is uncomfortable with the BBC policy of publishing its employees' salaries.
Opinion ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 As of yesterday afternoon, 10 of the policemen involved in the turkey shoot had been suspended together with the chief of the Mandaluyong police, for command responsibility.
The Barbarians scored tries in each half through Brad Thorn and Thomas Waldrom, but they were victims in a turkey shoot in the latest instalment of this annual fixture.
With the dawning of the Dyster casino revenue cash windfall a veritable "turkey shoot" had begun with "Hunter Interest" stoked by none less than Mayor Dyster as he turned the city of Niagara Falls into a shooting gallery where businesses were essentially licensed by the Dyster administration to turn a profit.
On our multi-state turkey shoot I rolled a running New York gobbler at 45 yards with only 1-1/4 ounces of No.
TURKEY SHOOT STRAIGHT from the Chelsea Flower Show to Heathrow to get to Lake Van in Turkey on the hunt for the earliest forms of the tulip for my next television series.
TURKEY SHOOT: Straight from Chelsea to Heathrow to get to Lake Van in Turkey on the hunt for the earliest forms of the tulip for my next television series.
'Turkey shoot' which means 'a marksmanship contest' comes from the time when turkeys were plentiful and people used to compete when shooting them.
The event was dubbed "Cold Turkey Shoot" and included shooting paper targets at 500, 750 and 1,000 yards in a timed format.
During the 1991 war with Iraq, we engaged in a "turkey shoot" of retreating soldiers.