cold turkey

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cold turkey

Slang

Immediate, complete withdrawal from something on which one has become dependent, such as an addictive drug.

adv.

1. Immediately and without gradual reduction of use: quit smoking cold turkey.

2. Frankly or directly; without mincing words: spoke to her staff cold turkey about the likelihood of layoffs.

[Probably from the serving of cold roast turkey as a dish needing no preparation .]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cold turkey

1. (Recreational Drugs) slang a method of curing drug addiction by abrupt withdrawal of all doses

2. (Recreational Drugs) the withdrawal symptoms, esp nausea and shivering, brought on by this method

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cold′ tur′key

1. abrupt and complete withdrawal from the use of an addictive substance, esp. a narcotic drug or nicotine.

adv.

2. abruptly and completely: to withdraw cold turkey from a drug.

3. without preparation; impromptu.

[1915–20, Amer.]

cold′-tur′key, adj.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	cold turkey - a blunt expression of views; "I told him cold turkey" verbal expression, verbalism, expression - the communication (in speech or writing) of your beliefs or opinions; "expressions of good will"; "he helped me find verbal expression for my ideas"; "the idea was immediate but the verbalism took hours"
	2.	cold turkey - complete and abrupt withdrawal of all addictive drugs or anything else on which you have become dependent; "he quit smoking cold turkey"; "she quit her job cold turkey" drug withdrawal, withdrawal - the termination of drug taking

Translations

cold turkey

n (fam) to go cold turkey → avere la scimmia

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

cold turkey

adv (fam) de golpe, abruptamente y sin ayuda (refiriéndose a la suspensión de un hábito o de una adicción)

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References in periodicals archive ?

The cold turkey group were not quite as successful, with just over a third of them managing to quit sugar for good.

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"It's very difficult to go cold turkey and say, 'No, that's it', but that is from a purchasing point of view." S

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They pass the ball well in training but we are in a cold turkey period as we are moving away from one way of playing in games."

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The sudden withdrawal from drugs and alcohol, a process commonly known as going 'cold turkey', can be dangerous.

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When Harry finds his boyfriend curled up on the kitchen floor, he realises what's going on, and in a three-hander episode, the teenager and Tony join forces to make Ste go cold turkey. Yet despite their best efforts, Ste still smashes the twins' moneybox and runs off to contact his dealer.

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It is with a freedom of love with no frills, cold turkey, that we offer back a loved one to God.

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Then six months later, 15% of the first group were still not smoking, compared to 22% in the cold turkey group.

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EMMERDALE (7pm ITV1) AS RHONA attempts to go cold turkey at home, Vanessa worries that Paddy doesn't realise the enormity of the job he's taken on and they both face their first serious test tonight when he leaves his vet's bag lying temptingly nearby.

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DAVID (Shiloh Fernandez), his girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) and friends Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and Olivia (Jessica Lucas) are cocooned in a rundown log cabin to support David's little sister, Mia (Jane Levy), as she goes cold turkey to kick her drug habit.

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The problem for the latter is that with net USD50bn in portfolio inflows over the past year, it has become addicted to these flows, and its difficult to wean the economy off these now - it needs to undergo "Cold Turkey".

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According to the company, 15 million individuals attempt to stop smoking each year, but only 5% succeed when they use no support or go "cold turkey?' GSK brands in the category include Nicorette and NicoDerm CQ.

GSK debuts online tool to help people curb smoking

60 percent smokers plan to stub out their last cigarette in January, according to the survey on behalf of Pfizer's 'Don't Go Cold Turkey' campaign.