A few theories exist about how “cold turkey” came to mean the abrupt and complete end to a particular behavior, but the two most common — the ones that have a bit of a story to them — fail the plausibility check.
Quitting “cold turkey” results in the skins of addicts in withdrawal resembling that of plucked turkeys, hence the origin of the term.When one talks of going “cold turkey,” such announcement is immediately grasped as meaning complete cessation of a particular activity. Yet for a phrase whose meaning is so widely understood, its origin is anything but.
To begin with, there’s the notion the phrase has a culinary origin. Cold turkey, says this theory, is a dish that can be quickly served, in that it requires no heating or other preparation, therefore the phrase stands as a metaphor for something done speedily and decisively. However, the “quickly served” aspect of that particular foodstuff applies to any number of other edibles, yet one doesn’t speak of going “cold salami” or “cold breakfast cereal,” just of going “cold turkey.
: “Once I used to gamble an’ drink the limit. One morning I got up from the card-table after sitting there thirty-six hours. I’d lost five thousand dollars. I knew they’d handed me out “cold turkey,” but I took my medicine.” Per that usage, “cold turkey” refers to having been cheated at cards. The “cold” aspect of that use continues to this day .
The most likely source for “cold turkey” stems from the earlier idiom “talk turkey.” To “talk turkey” was to speak affably, in pleasant terms. Over time, that meaning shifted into one of speaking plainly and directly about a particular matter, as this 1903 sighting shows: “I’m going to talk turkey with him and see if I can’t get him to mend his ways.” That use continues in common parlance, in that one seeking a raise might well during a sit down with the boss say “It’s time to talk turkey.
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