cold turkey
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See also: cold-turkey
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Various explanations; see Cold turkey § Etymology on Wikipedia.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun[edit]
- Sudden and complete withdrawal from a dependent substance, especially a drug.
- The physiological effects of such a withdrawal.
- (US military slang, World War I– World War II) Something exposed as a target due to surmountable defense.[1]
- Synonyms: cold meat, easy target, easy pickings
Translations[edit]
sudden and complete withdrawal
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symptoms of withdrawal
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Adverb[edit]
cold turkey (not comparable)
- (idiomatic) Not gradually; all at once. Refers especially to quitting a habit by force of will rather than by a gradual reduction.
- It is difficult, but possible to quit smoking cold turkey.
- 2012 April 4, Sam Anderson, “Just One More Game ...”, in The New York Times Magazine[2]:
- I knew that, if I had daily access to video games, I would spend literally every day playing them, forever. So I cut myself off, more or less cold turkey, and as a result I was more or less happy and productive.
- 2023 October 5, Rich Pelley, “Joan Baez: ‘I talk to trees to get answers. They give it to you cold turkey’”, in The Guardian, UK:
- Joan Baez:: ‘I talk to trees to get answers. They give it to you cold turkey’.
Translations[edit]
abruptly
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References[edit]
- ^ Lighter, Jonathan (1972) “The Slang of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, 1917-1919: An Historical Glossary”, in American Speech[1], volume 47, number 1/2, page 35