Chinese fire drill

Meaning

Noun

• A prank performed while stopped in a car at a red light; each passenger (including the driver) shouts "Chinese fire drill", exits the vehicle, runs at least once around it, then re-enters, taking a different seat.
• A silly, pointless exercise.

Origin

• Perhaps from the WWI era, from the British practice of using Chinese as a slur; now used only as a festive exclamation.