Rubber-Chicken Dinner

Meaning of Idiom ‘Rubber Chicken Dinner’

Also: Rubber-chicken circuit

Rubber-chicken dinner is a term used to describe the kind of unappetizing mass-produced food typically served at banquets. It is specifically associated with the kind of formal banquet dinners given by politicians for fund-raising but also describes the kind of dinners that public figures, CEO’s, and academic administrators must attend.

The rubber-chicken circuit is a series of rubber-chicken dinners that political candidates must attend. ¹

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Examples of Use

“If I have to attend one more rubber-chicken dinner I think I’ll get out of politics.”

“The boss is giving some rubber-chicken dinner for a bunch of deep-pockets. He said I don’t have to go but of course, I have to go.”

Origin

This idiom and its related term date at least to the 1940’s. Rubber chicken alludes to the overcooked “rubbery” meat served at such banquets but also to the rubber-chicken novelty gag. ²

More Idioms Starting with R

• Run a Fever
• Rub Someone the Wrong Way
• Raw Deal, a
• Running On Fumes
• Run a Bath

More Chicken Idioms

• Nest Egg, a
• Chicken Out
• No Spring Chicken
• Running Around Like a Chicken With its Head Cut Off

More Food Related Idioms

• I Could Murder (A Food/Drink)
• Go Pear-shaped
• Chopped Liver
• Low-Hanging Fruit
• Know Which Side Your Bread is Buttered On
• Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel

More Rubber Idioms

• Rubber Check
• Burn Rubber (to)

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References

1. Mariani, John F. The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. Bloomsbury, 2014.
2. Mariani, John F. The Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. Bloomsbury, 2014.