Synonyms for talk turkey


Grammar : Verb
Spell : tur-kee
Phonetic Transcription : ˈtɜr ki


Définition of talk turkey

Origin :
  • 1540s, "guinea fowl" (Numida meleagris), imported from Madagascar via Turkey, by Near East traders known as turkey merchants. The larger North American bird (Meleagris gallopavo) was domesticated by the Aztecs, introduced to Spain by conquistadors (1523) and thence to wider Europe, by way of North Africa (then under Ottoman rule) and Turkey (Indian corn was originally turkey corn or turkey wheat in English for the same reason).
  • The word turkey was first applied to it in English 1550s because it was identified with or treated as a species of the guinea fowl. The Turkish name for it is hindi, literally "Indian," probably via Middle French dinde (c.1600, contracted from poulet d'inde, literally "chicken from India," Modern French dindon), based on the common misconception that the New World was eastern Asia.
  • The New World bird itself reputedly reached England by 1524 at the earliest estimate, though a date in the 1530s seems more likely. By 1575, turkey was becoming the usual main course at an English Christmas. Meaning "inferior show, failure," is 1927 in show business slang, probably from the bird's reputation for stupidity. Meaning "stupid, ineffectual person" is recorded from 1951. Turkey shoot "something easy" is World War II-era, in reference to marksmanship contests where turkeys were tied behind a log with their heads showing as targets.
  • verb talk honestly
Example sentences :
  • Suppose we talk turkey about the common rights at Skulltree!
  • Extract from : « Joan of Arc of the North Woods » by Holman Day
  • But after you do that, you still have got to talk turkey with me about those papers.
  • Extract from : « Blow The Man Down » by Holman Day
  • If Donnegan hadn't cleaned up on you, you'd have had to talk turkey with me.
  • Extract from : « Gunman's Reckoning » by Max Brand
  • The Indian opened his eyes wide, and replied, "Seems to me you talk all buzzard to me, and no talk turkey."
  • Extract from : « Three Years on the Plains » by Edmund B. Tuttle
  • Lets go back down to the hotel and talk turkey, offered Shepherd briskly.
  • Extract from : « The Making of Bobby Burnit » by George Randolph Chester
  • Meanwhile, I'll nacherally string along with these obs'quies, so's to be ready to talk turkey to you when you're through.'
  • Extract from : « Faro Nell and Her Friends » by Alfred Henry Lewis
  • Very little "talk turkey" has the Indian experienced in dealing with the whites.
  • Extract from : « Three Years on the Plains » by Edmund B. Tuttle

Words or expressions associated with your search


Most wanted synonyms

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019