Does anyone know how the phrase "cold turkey" came about?

Question

As in "I quit cold turkey"

Answer 1

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20030128.html

Answer 2

Phrase Cold Turkey

Answer 3

Let's talk turkey. Since "cold turkey" is normally used in the context of quitting an unhealthy habit, such as smoking, we had a hunch its origins had something to do with addiction.
Sure enough, a quick Yahoo! search on "cold turkey" + "origin" led us to an entry on IdiomSite. Here, we learned that the phrase describes the skin's reaction to heroin withdrawal. As an addict stops using the drug, blood is drawn toward the internal organs, thereby leaving the skin to resemble a cold, plucked turkey.

The popular Q&A site AllExperts dates the phrase back to 1910 and states that it originally meant "without preparation," referring to the ease of making a dish of cold turkey. In 1922, the expression acquired its darker connotation related to drug withdrawal.

Actually, our feathered friends have been the inspiration for many descriptive idioms, not always flattering to fowl. Here are some graphic examples: the ghost-inspired or cold-triggered phenomenon of goose bumps; the painful goose egg (bump) on the head; chicken feed, for a measly sum of money; and chicken livered, a synonym for cowardly. It seems there's plenty of fowl language in use to depict humans who are not at their best.

Answer 4

Cold Turkey:

This phrase meaning suddenly, without preparation or to speak frankly is originally a reference to food. Cold turkey is something that can be prepared quickly and with little effort.

The earliest known usage is from 1910 in Robert Service's Trail of '98:

I'd lost five thousand dollars . . . "cold turkey."
The sense meaning to speak frankly dates to at least 1920 in a citation from T.A. Dorgan:

Now tell me on the square–can I get by with this for the wedding–don't string me–tell me cold turkey.
The sense meaning to quit an addictive substance suddenly is from at least 1921, when it appears in the Daily Colonist of Victoria, British Columbia on 13 October:

Perhaps the most pitiful figures who have appeared before Dr. Carleton Simon . . . are those who voluntarily surrender themselves. When they go before him, they are given what is called the "cold turkey" treatment.
There is an explanation that the pasty, goosebumped skin of an addict going through withdrawal resembles cold turkey skin and this gave rise to the term. But this is not borne out by the fact that the addiction sense is a later one.

(Sources: Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition; Historical Dictionary of American Slang)

Answer 5

read this b/c i didn't know it:

'cold turkey' dates the phrase back to 1910 and states that it originally meant "without preparation," referring to the ease of making a dish of cold turkey. In 1922, the expression acquired its darker connotation related to drug withdrawal.

this is when the phrase began to describe the skin's reaction to heroin withdrawal. As an addict stops using the drug, blood is drawn toward the internal organs, thereby leaving the skin to resemble a cold, plucked turkey.

fun.

Answer 6

Where I live,"COLD TURKEY" is a slang term used to describe a process where a person just quits smoking instantly rather than cutting down on the amount of cigarettes they smoke in a day.

Answer 7

The expression originates from the goose bumps and palor which accompany withdrawal from narcotics or tobacco. One's skin resembles that of a plucked, cold turkey.

Answer 8

well poor turkeys get called out all the time dont they? just the other day my boss said to US how can i soar with the eagles when i am always surrounded with turkeys. SEE there we go again . THE turkeys gets the blame.

Answer 9

Wow, it extremely is stunning to discover somebody at here who recollects 'Kiss my grits'. I enjoyed the teach 'Alice ' and Flo replaced into between the final characters. decide for it! start up saying kiss my grits and notice if it takes to the air. lol For the kiddos who do no longer know the word, seek for reruns of the teach Alice. It replaced right into a great teach from the 70's a pair of diner and a few waitresses and their humorous lives. i think of it nonetheless comes on ION television each and every each and every now and then. :)

Answer 10

the person might get strong goose flesh (bumps on the skin/hair on arms standing on edge and the like) and that kind of looked like a cold turkey (that has been feathered)

Answer 11

I think the phrase was coined by shakespear at some point...I could be way off though. I have to find the book I read that in, give me some time.