n. Slang.
- Immediate, complete withdrawal from something on which one has become dependent, such as an addictive drug.
- Blunt language or procedural method.
- A cold fish.
| Dictionary: cold turkey |
| Idioms: cold turkey |
Immediate, complete withdrawal from something, especially an addictive substance; also, without planning or preparation. For example, My bad shoulder forced me to quit playing tennis cold turkey, or I'd never done any rock climbing, but decided to try it cold turkey. This term may have come from the earlier expression talk turkey (for blunt speaking). At first used strictly for abrupt withdrawal from drugs or alcohol, it soon was transferred to quitting any habit or activity. [Early 1900s]
| Word Origin: cold turkey |
By 1922, cold turkey was not always a leftover from Thanksgiving dinner. For an addict, it was quite the opposite. "This method of sudden withdrawall," explained a writer that year, "is described in the jargon of the jail as 'the cold turkey' treatment," It meant "to immediately and completely give up a substance, such as narcotics or alcohol, to which one was addicted."
The shock to the system was such that few addicts voluntarily chose it. "Mention of the 'cold turkey treatment' gives a chill of horror to a drug addict," said Newsweek in 1933. "It means being thrown in jail with his drug supply completely cut off." And Mickey Spillane wrote in I, the Jury (1947), "I doubt if you can comprehend what it means to one addicted to narcotics to go 'cold turkey' as they call it."
This use of cold turkey is an outgrowth of a previous sense, attested as early as 1910, meaning "extreme plainness and directness," going back to talk turkey, attested in 1830. Carl Sandburg used the term this way in a 1922 letter: "I'm going to talk cold turkey with the booksellers about the hot gravy in the stories."
Nowadays going cold turkey is not restricted to narcotics and alcohol addiction. We speak of it as an extreme means of quitting any attachment or habit that we find hazardous to our health: cigarettes, chocolate, a television show, sex--perhaps even a sports team.
| Wikipedia: Cold turkey |
| Look up cold turkey in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
"Cold turkey" is a slang expression describing the actions of a person who gives up a habit or addiction all at once. That is, rather than gradually easing the process through reduction or by using replacement medication. Its supposed advantage is that by not actively using supplemental methods, the person avoids thinking about the habit and its temptation, and avoids further feeding the chemical addiction. The supposed disadvantages related to the abuse of drugs such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, and heroin are unbearable withdrawal symptoms from the total absence, which may cause tremendous stress on the heart and blood vessels and -- in a worst case scenario -- possible stroke or heart failure.
The etymology derives from the phrase talk turkey, in which someone deals matter-of-factly with a subject[1]. Some, however, believe the derivation is from the comparison of a cold turkey carcass and the state of a withdrawing addict — most notably, the cold sweats and goose bumps.[citation needed] It is often preceded by the verb "to go," as in "going cold turkey." Yet another suggestion of origin is that cold turkey is a dish that needs little or no preparation. "To quit like cold turkey" would be to quit in the same way a cold turkey is served, instantly just as you are without preparation.
Sudden withdrawal from drugs such as alcohol, benzodiazepines and barbiturates can be extremely dangerous, leading to potentially fatal seizures. In long-term alcoholics, going cold turkey can cause life-threatening delirium tremens and thus is not an appropriate method for breaking an alcohol addiction.^ Hughes JR (February 2009). "Alcohol withdrawal seizures". Epilepsy Behav. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2009.02.037. PMID 19249388. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1525-5050(09)00093-6.
In the case of dependence upon certain drugs, including opiates such as heroin, going cold turkey may be extremely unpleasant, but is not dangerous[citation needed].
2. Cold Turkey - Dictionary References & Etymology
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3. Cold Turkey - Etymology
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![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Word Origin. 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. Read more | |
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