turkey

1. 1. A large North American bird (Meleagris gallopavo) that has brownish plumage and a bare wattled head and neck and is widely domesticated for food.
   2. A related bird (Agriocharis ocellata) of Mexico and Central America, brilliantly colored and having eyelike spots on its tail.
2. Slang.
   1. A person considered inept or undesirable.
   2. A failure, especially a failed theatrical production or movie.
3. Sports. Three consecutive strikes in bowling.

talk turkey Informal.

1. 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.]

Slang for an investment that yields disappointing results or turns out worse than expected. Failed business deals, securities that realize significant losses and unsuccessful 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.

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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.

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.

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).

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.

noun

One deficient in judgment and good sense: ass, fool, idiot, imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool. Informal dope, gander, goose. Slang cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, nerd, schmo, schmuck. See ability/inability.

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.

(click to enlarge)
Male turkey. (credit: Joe McDonald/Corbis)

Either of two species of birds in the family 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 8 – 15 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.

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.

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

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 칠면조, 실패, 바보

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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