Waving a dead chicken (over it)

Waving a dead chicken (over it) is an informal phrase used to describe a known (or suspected) useless procedure to remedy any software and/or hardware issue. This may or may not imply that an actual remedy exists, and if so, that that remedy had been attempted beforehand. The procedure may be a last ditch effort to resolve a situation, and/or possibly simply to satisfy those who refuse to accept defeat.

The term may be derived from the Jewish traditional custom of Kapparot, in which a live chicken is swung over one's head as a symbol of atonement for sins. Even for those who consider this to be effective, it wouldn't work for a dead chicken.