cut the turkey as opposed to carve it
Directly translated into German "carve the turkey" would mean something like creating one out of wood (or ice or whatever you could carve).
We would cut it, yes, but usually not "schneiden" ('cut'), more "anschneiden" (also 'cut') and of course "tranchieren". There are other words that could be used, too (like "zerlegen"). To be honest, I'm not quiet the person you should asking about cutting up an animal (I'm a vegetarian for decades).
I read a lot of english books (fiction and non-fiction), but when I first met the 'carved turkey' I really wasn't sure if this was kind of slang, jokingly used or the usual language.
Even if I do this for more than 20 years, I still find some words I don't really know the meaning or forgot it as they are seldom used. Nowadays I use an e-reader with incorporated dictionary, but slang sometimes causes a problem there (I usually get the drift).
Movies I watch in their original-version, too, but usually with subtitles on (and it doesn't matter if the text is English or German) because some actors mumble heavily or I'm not used to the pronunciation. (Brando is a big mumbler but he did it very intelligible). In older movies they sometimes speak very fast to keep the runtimes down.
The reason for this is the same. Translations are often bad (translators belong not to the best paid lot). I like for example a good crime novel, but it's only a few years since even Raymond Chandler got a good treatment translation wise (Gisbert Haefs did that). Before that his works were often shortened below the 200 page mark (which says a lot if you think about the simple fact that his books usualy have more than 300 pages). Or Ross Macdonald. I read one of his books once in German (an older edition from the 70s or 60s) where the superfluous sex scenes where too much even for the 14 year old I was back then. It was pure pornography. I didn't like the guy especially as the plot was very unclear in the end.
Later on a friend told me, that I probably would like his books, and I tried it again. Was quiet true. So I happened to read the same book in English I mentioned before. Guess what? No sex scenes out of nowhere were they aren't needed and no pornography altogether. It was inserted in that German edition. I don't think they do stuff like this today.
And don't get me started about synchronization of movies.