A faster but unpleasant method of stopping an addictive habit, such as drugs or alcohol. It means that you just totally, completely stop, and never do it again (or at least try to).
Going cold turkey is opposed to stopping it by gradually doing it less and less, or stopping it with help like special gum or medicine. You don't get any help; you just stop.
Lydia tried to smoke only one cigarette a week, but she ended up going back to her old habits. She decided to try out going cold turkey.
"Cold turkey" is a term describing the actions of a person who gives up his habit or addiction at a single moment, rather than through gradually easing the process through tapering off or supplemental medication. The term allegedly derives from the comparison of a cold turkey carcass and the state of a withdrawing addict -- most notably, the cold sweats and gooseflesh. It is often preceded by the word 'going', as 'going cold turkey'."--Wikipedia
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Without preparation. First used in correlation with withdrawl from an addictive substance in the 1920s with regards to heroin addiction. The idea being that "cold turkey" is a food that requires little to no preparation to eat - hence doing something "cold turkey" means the action will be done without preparation & immediately. Also connected to the notion that the symptoms of withdrawl from many substances include cold sweats (moisture), and sallow skin - much like that of a cold, dead, turkey.
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When somebody quits something without weaning themselves off of it.
Could be anything E.G: smoking, jacking off, television.
Originates from when a smack (or any opiate for that matter, medical or not) addict stops taking drugs completely. The effects are
feeling "cold" (from the inside) no matter what temperature it is or how many blankets you are using.
The turkey part comes from the same origin and when your skin goes goosepimply...like a turkey.
I speak from personal experience.
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Cold turkey refers to the clammy, cold, sweaty and goose bumped state of the heroin addict that is trying to "kick" the habit. This happens when the junkie decides to give up heroin without any sort of support mechanism - such as methadone - to take the place of the heroin. The body reacts by turning cold, clammy, sweaty, and the skin resembles that of a cold turkey.
"Did you hear Jojo was giving up junk?"
"Really? How?"
"He's
going cold turkey - he looks like hell."
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Cold turkey is a term that originated in North America with a slightly different meaning than the one it carries today. We will look at the definition of the term cold turkey, how its meaning has changed, and some examples of its use in sentences. Cold turkey means
to quit something abruptly and without preparation or fanfare. Presumably, the term echos the idea of a cold turkey dinner which is one that does not take a lot of preparation and is presented without fanfare. Primarily but not exclusively, cold turkey is used to describe ending the use of something addictive such as cigarettes, alcohol or other legal and illegal drugs. The implication is that quitting cold
turkey involves enduring the pain of withdrawal without using any tools to alleviate that pain. Originally, cold turkey meant to speak plainly and bluntly, as in talk cold turkey. Today, someone who speaks plainly is said to talk turkey and someone who ceases an addictive activity such as smoking is said to be quitting cold turkey. Examples A reality show with a difference, for over two weeks we get to watch seven celebs
who admit to having a terrible diet, go cold turkey from sugar. (The Sun) No ‘Cherry Picking,’ as Britain’s Told to Go Cold Turkey on Free Trade With EU (Sputnik News)
This past November, volunteers signed up to quit smoking cold turkey as part of a 30-day smoke-free challenge, hosted by the Lung Association of Nova Scotia (LANS). (The Truro Daily News)
A woman told to come off Lyrica “cold turkey” said she nearly “went mad” with withdrawal symptoms, including aches all over, shivers, crying and lightheadedness. (The Irish Times)
Ever quit something cold turkey and wonder why you've quit it in such a manner? On the serious side, the phrase is often used when the quitting brings physical symptoms of withdrawal, as with heroin or other highly addictive drugs. However, it can also be used more lightheartedly, as in this recent Business Insider headline: "I was addicted to dating apps, so I quit cold turkey." But where the heck did it come from?
The expression first appeared in the Daily Colonist in British Columbia in 1921: "Perhaps the most pitiful figures who have appeared before Dr. Carleton Simon ... are those who voluntarily surrender themselves. When they go before him, that are given what is called the 'cold turkey' treatment."
But why turkey, and why cold? The most popular theory was repeated by the San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen in 1978: "It derives from the hideous combination of goosepimples [sic] and what William Burroughs calls 'the cold burn' that addicts suffer as they kick the habit." In Cop Speak: The Lingo of Law Enforcement and Crime, Tom Philbin recites a second theory, that "the term may derive from the cold, clammy feel of the skin during withdrawal, like a turkey that has been refrigerated."
The problem with both of these theories is that they ignore the uses of cold turkey before its application to drug addiction. In a cartoon that appeared in newspapers on November 12, 1920, ace slangman Thomas "TAD" Dorgan used cold turkey this way – "Now tell me on the square – can I get by with this for the wedding – don't string me – tell me cold turkey." The editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang have found an earlier use: a 1910 usage where the speaker lost $5,000 cold turkey, in the sense of losing it outright.
It may be that the original cold turkey was a combination of cold ("straightforward, matter-of-fact") and the earlier talk turkey, which dates back to the early 1800s and refers to speaking plainly. Regardless of its ultimate origins, the phrase manages to vividly capture the initial dread and discomfort that comes from immediately quitting something that's addictive, from drugs to dating apps.