turkey
American Heritage Dictionary:
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tur·key
(tûr'kē) 
n., pl., -keys.
n., pl., -keys.
- A large North American bird (Meleagris gallopavo) that has brownish plumage and a bare wattled head and neck and is widely domesticated for food.
- A related bird (Agriocharis ocellata) of Mexico and Central America, brilliantly colored and having eyelike spots on its tail.
- Slang.
- A person considered inept or undesirable.
- A failure, especially a failed theatrical production or movie.
- Sports. Three consecutive strikes in bowling.
talk turkey Informal.
- To speak frankly and get down to the basic facts of a matter.
[After TURKEY, from a confusion with the guinea fowl, once believed to have originated in Turkish territory.]
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Visual Food Lover's Guide:
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Turkey
turkey
A farmyard bird originally from North America. The head and neck of the turkey, colored purple-red, have no feathers and possess several growths. Wild turkeys have little flesh, in contrast to farmed turkeys, which have become fleshy through a great deal of crossbreeding. Domestic turkeys can weigh up to 40 lb (18 kg). Turkey flesh is not as fine as chicken, and is drier. The larger the animal, the less tasty it is.
Buying
Products that can be bought on the market include boned turkey, turkey pieces (breast, thighs, drumsticks, etc.), ground turkey, turkey escalopes and cubes, and turkey rolled roast, as well as a whole range of processed products (sausage, salami, pastrami, Kolbassa sausage). Boned turkey can be sold skinless, with only the white meat or with both white and dark meat; it can also be cooked and smoked or given a ham flavor. Ready to cook or serve, these products are usually sold frozen; refer to the list of ingredients for information on what they contain. Turkey is also sold stuffed or injected with fat or oil, which is more expensive and contains a high proportion of saturated fats.
Serving Ideas
Turkey is traditionally roasted, often stuffed. It is prepared in the same way as chicken, which it can replace in most recipes. Like chicken, it is delicious cold, especially in salads, aspics and sandwiches.
Ground turkey is prepared in the same way as beef, and can be made into meat balls or burgers.
Cooking
Defrost the turkey completely before cooking, ideally in the fridge, in the original packaging; allow about 11 hr per 2 lb (1 kg). It can also be defrosted in cold water (allow 3 hr per 2 lb/1 kg) or in the microwave oven by following the manufacturer's directions.
The ideal cooking temperature is 320°F (160°C). The internal temperature of the breast should be 160°F (72°C), or 170°F (77°C) for thighs.
Roasting Time for Turkey
| Weight (lb/kg) | Cooking time to roast | |
| Whole turkey | 4-61/2/1.8-3 | 3-31/2 hr |
| 61/2-7²∕3/3.0-31/2 | 31/2-4 hr | |
| 7²∕3-10/31/2-41/2 | 4-41/2 hr | |
| 10-12/41/2-51/2 | 41/2-5 hr | |
| 14-151/2/61/2-7 | 51/2-6 hr | |
| 171/2-20/8-9 | 5¾-61/2 hr | |
| 20-24/9-11 | 6¼-7 hr | |
| Half turkey | 4/2 | 21/2-3 hr |
| 9/4 | 4-41/2 hr | |
| 13/6 | 41/2-5 hr | |
| Turkey quarter | 4/2 | 3-31/2 hr |
| 61/2/3 | 31/2-4 hr | |
| Drumsticks (6 pieces) | 3/11/2 | 11/2-1¾ hr |
| Thighs (6 pieces) | 4/2 | 11/2-1¾ hr |
| Wings (8 pieces) | 4/2 | 1¼-11/2 hr |
| Half-breast | 2/1 | 1¾-2 hr |
Nutritional Information
| raw flesh (white and dark) | with skin | roast white and dark meat | with skin | |
| protein | 22 g | 20 g | 29 g | 28 g |
| fat | 3 g | 8 g | 5 g | 10 g |
| cholesterol | 65 mg | 68 mg | 76 mg | 82 mg |
| calories | 119 | 160 | 170 | 208 |
| per 100 g | ||||
Good source: vitamin B12 and phosphorus.
Turkey has almost twice as much white meat as dark. The white meat is less fatty and less moist. About 40% of the weight of the whole bird is edible. About 14 oz (400 g) of cooked meat is obtained for each 2 lb (1 kg) of raw turkey, 9 oz (250 g) of which can be served sliced.
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Either of two species of birds assigned to either of two families, Phasianidae or Meleagrididae. The North American common turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) has been domesticated since pre-Columbian times. The adult male has a featherless bright-red head, a fleshy red ornament (snood) growing over the bill, and a similar wattle on the throat. The male (gobbler or tom) may be 50 in. (1.3 m) long and may weigh over 20 lb (10 kg). Wild turkeys inhabit woodlands near water, eating seeds, insects, and an occasional frog or lizard. Males assemble a harem, and each hen lays 815 eggs in a hollow in the ground. An excellent source of meat and easily shot, the wild turkey was practically exterminated by European settlers; conservation efforts have reestablished it in much of its former range. The ocellated turkey (Agriocharis, or Meleagris, ocellata) of Central America has never been domesticated.
For more information on turkey, visit Britannica.com.
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Disappointing investment. The term may be used with reference to a business deal that went awry, or to the purchase of a stock or bond that dropped in value sharply, or to a new securities issue that did not sell well or had to be sold at a loss.
| Tulipomania, Tuition Reduction, Tuition | |
| Turkey, Talk, Turn The Corner, Turnaround |
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A poultry bird, Meleagris gallopavo, introduced into Europe from America by the Spaniards in 1523. The name derives from confusion with the guinea fowl, which had recently been introduced from the eastern Mediterranean by Turkish merchants. A 150-g portion is a rich source of protein, niacin, and vitamin B12; a good source of vitamin B6, zinc, and copper; a source of iron, vitamins B1, B2, and folate; contains 4 g of fat of which 40% is saturated; supplies 200 kcal (840 kJ).
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For most families, Thanksgiving dinner would be unthinkable without this large native-American bird on the table. Long before the arrival of European settlers, wild turkeys populated the United States, Mexico and Central America and the Aztecs were busily domesticating them. The conquistadores took some of these domesticated birds back to Spain, and before long Europeans were breeding them into a much plumper version. Interestingly enough, European settlers brought some of these domesticated birds back to the New World in the 1600s and eventually began crossing them with America's wild turkeys. Most U.S. Turkeys raised today are from the White Holland variety, which has been bred to produce a maximum of white meat (a U.S. Favorite). In fact, the breasts of today's turkeys are so massive that they must rely on artificial insemination because they can't get close enough to mate. Although male (tom) turkeys can reach 70 pounds, those over 20 pounds are becoming less and less available. The female (hen) turkey usually weighs from 8 to 16 pounds. Gaining in popularity is a smaller version of both sexes (sometimes called a fryer-roaster), which weighs in at between 5 and 8 pounds. The trend toward these compact turkeys is the result of both smaller families and the desire of turkey producers to make turkey everyday rather than exclusively holiday fare. Turkeys are available fresh and frozen year-round. They're sold both whole and as parts-such as breasts or drumsticks. Some whole turkeys have had a built-in plastic thermometer implanted that pops up when the turkey is done. Self-basting turkeys have been injected with butter or vegetable oil. Smoked turkey-whole or breast-is also available, as is canned boned turkey. Turkey is very similar to chicken in many regards, including USDA grading. See chicken for information on purchasing, storing and preparing turkey.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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turkey
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Origin: 1607
Whoever named the bird turkey--a word that English speakers began mentioning as long ago as 1541--made a big mistake. Although that bird came from Guinea in Africa, the English apparently first imported it from Turkish merchants. So, naturally, they called it a turkey. When English speakers established their first colony in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, they thought they saw turkeys there too. "We found an Ilet, on which were many Turkeys," wrote one. These birds were not from Turkey and were not related to the guinea fowl of Africa. But turkeys they were called, and turkeys they remain.
Much of what we know about the Jamestown colony was written by Captain John Smith, whose efforts preserved the colony from collapse and who in turn was preserved by the Indian "princess" Pocahontas. Smith's accounts of the colony frequently mention turkeys as food, gifts, and objects of trade. In 1607, Smith writes, to celebrate the first peace after the first armed clash, the Indians brought "Venison, Turkies, wild foule, bread, and what they had, singing and dauncing in signe of friendship till they departed." Elsewhere Smith noted that the Indians made warm and beautiful cloaks from turkey feathers. Further north, as the Plymouth colony neared the end of its first year in 1621, Governor William Bradford likewise observed "great store of wild Turkies, of which they tooke many." Undoubtedly turkeys were among the "fowl" served at the first Thanksgiving (1621) dinner.
Despite those significant beginnings and Ben Franklin's lobbying, the turkey lost to the bald eagle in the contest for American bird. And it is a loser in modern American slang, too. Since the 1920s, turkey has been a term for a play or movie that is a failure, and since the 1950s for a person who is incompetent. But though the turkey never succeeded in becoming the American symbol, it did become the American feast. Thanksgiving is Turkey Day, and the turkey has gobbled its way into our language more than any other bird. Though we never "talk eagle," we talk turkey when we speak frankly. Cold turkey also means plain talk and can refer to the shock effect of "quitting cold" from an addiction.
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[Sp]
Large game-bird of the Phasianidae family (Meleagris gallopavo) with dark plumage, native to North America from Canada down to Mexico. Widely hunted from Archaic times onwards, especially in the Great Plains and eastern woodlands. In their wild state turkeys have been hunted to extinction in North America, although there are many domestic breeds. Brought to Europe in the 16th century ad.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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turkey
turkey, common name for a large game and poultry bird related to the grouse and the pheasant. Its name derives from its "turk-turk" call. Turkeys are indigenous to the New World; American fossils date back 40 million years to the Oligocene. The Mexican turkey, taken to Europe in the 16th cent. by the conquistadors, is the original of the domestic race. The wild eastern turkey, Meleagris gallapavo, was common in New England at the time of the Pilgrims, but has been exterminated there and now ranges from New York to Missouri. Commercial operations produced 260 million turkeys in the United States in 1989. Wild turkeys are woodland birds, gregarious except at breeding time. They are nonmigratory, although they are good fliers. Like pheasants, they are polygamous, and the male, who eats little during courtship, depends at this time on a fatty breast appendage for nourishment. The female alone builds the nest on the ground; she lays 8 to 15 eggs per clutch and also broods the young. The colorful ocellated turkey, Agriocharis ocellata is found in Central America. Turkeys are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Galliformes, family Meleagrididae.
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Slang for an investment that yields disappointing results or turns out worse than expected. Failed business deals, securities that realize significant losses and unsuccessful initial public offerings (IPOs) could all be called "turkeys".
Investopedia Says:
For an individual investor, a turkey could be a speculative equity investment in a startup technology company that subsequently goes bankrupt. For a corporation, a turkey could be the purchase of a smaller company that ends up producing much less revenue than anticipated, making it an investment that gobbles up the company's profits.
Related Links:
Before buying your turkey and trimmings, plan and budget to keep costs under control. Top Tips For Sticking To A Thanksgiving Budget
Avoid taking premature profits or running losses by setting appropriate exit points. A Look at Exit Strategies
Knowing whether to sell or to hold is tough. And no rule fits all. Find out what to consider. The Art Of Selling A Losing Position
Unhappy with your mutual fund's returns and thinking of investing elsewhere? Read this article first. When To Sell A Mutual Fund
Flying high one day but not the next - see the stories behind some spectacular meltdowns. Massive Hedge Fund Failures
Nutritional Values:
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The Nutritional Value for: turkey
| Description | Quantity | Energy (calories) |
Carbs (grams) |
Protein (grams) |
Cholesterol (milligrams) |
Weight (grams) |
Fat (grams) |
Saturated Fat (grams) |
| roasted, dark meat | 4 pieces | 160 | 0 | 24 | 72 | 85 | 6 | 2.1 |
| roasted, light + dark | 1 cup | 240 | 0 | 41 | 106 | 140 | 7 | 2.3 |
| roasted, light + dark | 3 pieces | 145 | 0 | 25 | 65 | 85 | 4 | 1.4 |
| roasted, light meat | 2 pieces | 135 | 0 | 25 | 59 | 85 | 3 | 0.9 |
Devil's Dictionary:
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turkey
A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce
n.
A large bird whose flesh when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. Incidentally, it is pretty good eating.
Word Tutor:
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turkey
IN BRIEF: n. - A Eurasian republic in Asia Minor and the Balkans; A large fowl native to North America.
There are colours in the Turkey carpet out of which a picture might be made.
— Lord Macaulay Thomas Babington, Source: Literary Essays in the Edinburgh Review
LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!
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noun
noun, N Amer and Austral
1: A bundle or holdall carried by itinerant workers, vagrants, etc. (1893 —) .
R. Symons The cowboys' 'turkeys'—as they called their bedrolls, in which were wrapped their personal possessions such as tobacco—when the outfit was on the move (1963).
2:US An inferior or unsuccessful film or theatrical production, a flop; hence, anything disappointing or of inferior value. (1927 —) .
H. Fast 'Have you ever thought of selling the place?' Jake asked...'Oh? And who the hell would buy this turkey?' (1977).
3:US = turk noun ; spec. an Irish immigrant in the US. (1932 —) .
4:US A stupid, slow, inept, or otherwise worthless person. (1951 —) .
Tampa (Florida) Tribune I decided I had had enough of that turkey (1984). See also cold turkeynoun , to talk turkey at talk verb .
noun, N Amer and Austral
1: A bundle or holdall carried by itinerant workers, vagrants, etc. (1893 —) .
R. Symons The cowboys' 'turkeys'—as they called their bedrolls, in which were wrapped their personal possessions such as tobacco—when the outfit was on the move (1963).
2:
H. Fast 'Have you ever thought of selling the place?' Jake asked...'Oh? And who the hell would buy this turkey?' (1977).
3:
4:
Tampa (Florida) Tribune I decided I had had enough of that turkey (1984). See also cold turkey
| turf, turd, tup | |
| turkey shoot, turn, turn-off |
Wiley Dictionary of Flavors:
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Turkey
A larger fowl that has a flavor vaguely reminiscent of chicken, although the meat tends to be more savory and even a bit gamier (substituted fatty acids). Turkey is the traditional staple for the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States and other fall and winter occasions (Christmas, etc.). Tryptophan, an amino acid found in turkey, has been identified as the ingredient responsible for making people tired after heavy turkey consumption as during the Thanksgiving holiday. An interesting anecdote about the usage of the slang 'turkey' meaning stupid describes the domesticated variety. It is said that turkey pens have no corners, because a turkey is so dumb, it will not be able to turn around and will stay in the corner unless prodded. Also, turkey pens have to be covered, because when it rains, turkeys lift up their heads to see where the rain is coming from and drown. Also, pebbles and shot have to be mixed with turkey grain to give the turkey a feeling of satiation, or the turkey will eat itself to death.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'turkey'
- Other land birds
- Poultry and Game
- Stagecraft, Production, and Dramatic Structure - turkey: Slang. disastrous production or performance
- Bowling
- Behavior or Personality
See crossword solutions for the clue Translations:
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Turkey
Dansk (Danish)
n. - kalkun, skvadderhoved, fiasko, flop
idioms:
- talk turkey tale alvor, komme til sagen
n. - Turkey
Nederlands (Dutch)
kalkoen, stomme oen, mislukking
Français (French)
n. - (Culin) dinde, (US, Théât, Cin) bide (fam), navet, (US) cloche (personne) (fam)
idioms:
- talk turkey parler franchement
n. - Turquie
Deutsch (German)
n. - Türkei, Truthahn, (ugs.) Reinfall, (ugs.) Schwachkopf
idioms:
- talk turkey offen reden, zur Sache kommen
n. - Türkei
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ορνιθ.) γαλοπούλα, (γεωγρ.) Τουρκία, (ΗΠΑ, αργκό) φιάσκο, αποτυχημένο θέαμα
idioms:
- talk turkey έρχομαι στο ψητό, μιλώ σταράτα
Italiano (Italian)
Turchia, tacchino
idioms:
- talk turkey discutere apertamente
Português (Portuguese)
n. - peru (m), pessoa convencida (m)
idioms:
- talk turkey ser franco, não ter papas na língua
n. - Turquia
Русский (Russian)
индейка, индюшка, индюшатина
idioms:
- talk turkey разговор без обиняков
Español (Spanish)
n. - Turquía, pavo, guajolote, chumpipe
idioms:
- talk turkey no andarse con rodeos, hablar claro
n. - Turquía
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kalkon, snabbavtändning, tvärstopp (knark), fiasko, flopp, kalkonfilm, torrboll, nolla dumbom (am.)
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
土耳其
火鸡, 无用的东西, 不中用的家伙
idioms:
- talk turkey 直率地说
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 土耳其
n. - 火雞, 無用的東西, 不中用的傢伙
idioms:
- talk turkey 直率地說
터키 (중동의 공화국; 수도 Ankara)
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - トルコ, 七面鳥, 七面鳥の肉, ターキー
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) عمل مخفق, اخفاق, ديك رومي
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - טורקיה (או תורכיה), תרנגול-הודו, כישלון, אדם טיפש או לא-מיומן
n. - טורקיה
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved.
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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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America in So Many Words, by David K.Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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