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"Turkey with all the trimmings"

Posted by Carol on January 19, 2001

In Reply to: "Turkey with all the trimmings" posted by R. Berg on January 19, 2001

: It's my impression that in U.S. usage the word "trimmings" in the sense of side dishes has survived only in the cliche that journalists and broadcasters bring out every year to describe Thanksgiving dinner-"turkey with all the trimmings." Mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and so forth aren't called trimmings if served on any other day of the year (although I'm not sure about Christmas). Even on Thanksgiving, if the entree happens to be chicken or duck, then the side dishes lose their status as trimmings. And no one would ever say "We're having hamburger with all the trimmings." Does anybody here know of current uses that are exceptions?

Actually, in some areas you might hear "hamburger with all the trimmings". But you might also hear "hamburger with all the fixins."

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