If you’ve ever quit a habit or discussed someone else quitting, you’re likely familiar with the phrase cold turkey. Whether your vice is Netflix binges, oreo cramming, or cigarettes, to quit them cold turkey means to swear off them completely, no ifs, ands, or buts. With New Year’s behind us, the phrase may be cropping up more and more. But where does it come from?
Its origins can be traced back to 18th and 19th century America. Historical accounts seem to indicate that the phrase “talking turkey” meant to talk disingenuously, similar to the way “flapping your gums” is used now.
A folkish retelling of the origins of the phrase first appeared in an 1837 article from the Niles’ Weekly Register:
“An Indian and a white man went shooting in partnership and a wild turkey and a crow were all the results of the day’s toil. The white man, in the usual style of making a bargain with the Indian proposed a division of the spoils in this way: ‘Now Wampum, you may have your choice: you take the crow, and I’ll take the turkey; or, if you’d rather, I’ll take the turkey and you take the crow.’ Wampum reflected a moment on the generous alternative thus offered, and replied – ‘Ugh! You no talk turkey to me.’
Based on this and other appearances, “talking turkey” seems to have been a euphemism for deceitful or otherwise superficial, pleasant talk. However, by the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, the phrase inexplicably changed meanings, becoming more synonymous with talking frankly and directly.
To “talk turkey” became associated with getting down to brass tacks, discussing the meat of the matter at hand, and disregarding the sides and stuffing of polite conversation. In the early 20th century, the phrase first appeared in print along with the qualifier “cold” to indicate this kind of straightforward way of communicating.
Going ‘cold turkey’ is a popular phrase used to describe abruptly and completely stopping an addictive habit or behavior. But where does this odd expression come from, and what do turkeys have to do with quitting something?
The origins of ‘cold turkey’ are uncertain, but there are a few compelling theories about how this phrase emerged.
The Abrupt Shift Theory
One possibility is that ‘cold turkey’ derives from an earlier phrase ‘talk turkey’, which dates back to the early 1800s and means to speak plainly or directly. Quitting something ‘cold turkey’ may have started as a metaphor for the abrupt and total shift from doing that activity to completely stopping. Just as shifting from casual conversation to blunt speaking would be sudden and stark, going ‘cold turkey’ represents an immediate switch from indulging in something to abstaining completely.
The Meat Theory
Another explanation points to ‘cold turkey’ as a type of food Serving or eating plain cold turkey requires minimal preparation compared to roasted or dressed turkey dishes, So quitting ‘cold turkey’ may compare suddenly stopping a habit to the quick readiness of eating simple leftover turkey meat The connotation is doing something abruptly and without any process of easing into it,
The Withdrawal Symptoms Theory
Some sources hypothesize that ‘cold turkey’ refers to the chills, goosebumps, and pallor that drugs addicts experience when withdrawing from substances like heroin or alcohol. The trembling and cold, clammy skin associated with quitting ‘cold turkey’ evokes the image of the skin of an uncooked refrigerated turkey.
Early Usages Point to Shift in Meaning
The first known uses of ‘cold turkey’ further support the theory that the phrase grew out of ‘talk turkey’. In the early 20th century, ‘talk cold turkey’ appeared in cartoons and literature to mean speaking bluntly or directly. By the 1920s, uses of ‘quitting cold turkey’ emerged specifically referring to abruptly stopping drug, alcohol or other addictions, shifting away from the ‘plain talk’ meaning.
While the precise origin remains uncertain, what is clear is that the odd expression ‘cold turkey’ has become a popular idiom for decisively and completely ending a habit, rather than gradually reducing or tapering off. So next time you hear someone is quitting their daily coffee or weekly pub visit ‘cold turkey’, you’ll know it means they are taking a tough, abrupt approach instead of slowly easing their way out.
Key Points:
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‘Cold turkey’ likely derives from ‘talk turkey’, an older phrase meaning to speak frankly.
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It may compare sudden stopping to serving plain cold turkey meat.
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Another theory suggests it refers to drug withdrawal chills.
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First usages were around plain talk, but by 1920s referred to quitting addictions.
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Now it is understood as abruptly ending a habit vs tapering off.
The Des Moines Daily News, May 1914:
“I’ve heard [Reverend Billy] Sunday give his ‘Booze’ sermon, and believe me that rascal can make tears flow out of a stone. And furthermore he talks ‘cold turkey‘. You know what I mean – calls a spade a spade.”
The Daily Colonist, British Columbia, 1921:
‘Perhaps the most pitiful figures who have appeared before Dr. Carleton Simon … are those who voluntarily surrender themselves. When they go before him, that are given what is called the ‘cold turkey‘ treatment.’