What the turkey had to do with plain speaking, we just don't know. To 'go cold turkey' was to get straight to the scene of the action - in at the deep end. 'Talking cold turkey' meant no nonsense talking and its partner expression 'going cold turkey' meant no nonsense doing. 'Cold turkey' means plain truth in America." The English newspaper The Daily Express introduced the phrase to an English audience in a January 1928 edition: You know what I mean - calls a spade a spade. I've heard Sunday give his 'Booze' sermon, and believe me that rascal can make tears flow out of a stone. This usage dates from the early part of the 20th century, as in this example from The Des Moines Daily News, May 1914: In the USA, and as far as I can tell nowhere else, 'plain speaking/getting down to business' is called 'talking cold turkey', which has been shortened in present day speech to just 'talking turkey'. The turkey looms large in the American psyche because of its link to early European colonists and is, as even Limies like me know, the centrepiece of the annual Thanksgiving meal. To find the origin of the term we need to delve into the annals of American speech. Also, by extension, it is used to refer to any abrupt termination of something we are accustomed to. The term 'cold turkey' is now predominantly used as the name of the drug withdrawal process. What's the origin of the phrase 'Cold turkey'?Īt this time of year, you have probably had enough of cold turkey. Also, predominantly in the U.S.A., plain speaking. The sudden and complete withdrawal from an addictive substance and/or the physiological effects of such a withdrawal. American phrases What's the meaning of the phrase 'Cold turkey'?.
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