| Idiom | Cold Turkey |
|---|---|
| Example | I kicked the TV habit cold turkey. I took five books out of the library and covered my set with a blanket. |
| Meaning | the sudden stopping of any habit |
| Origin | This 20th-century American expression describes an instant withdrawal from any kind of habit, such as smoking, alcohol, drugs, or high-fat foods. If you totally quit your harmful behavior without any help, then you've quit "cold turkey." No one is quite sure why the words "cold" and "turkey" were joined this way. Since "cold" sometimes describes something unpleasant ("She gave me a cold stare," or "A cold chill ran down my spine," for example), then suddenly ending your bad, but pleasurable, habit could leave you cold. How the "turkey" gobbled its way into this idiom is anybody's guess. |
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