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cold turkey
"without preparation," 1910; narrower sense of "withdrawal from an addictive substance" (originally heroin) first recorded 1921. Cold turkey is a food that requires little preparation, so "to quit like cold turkey" is to do so suddenly and without preparation. Compare cold shoulder. To do something cold "without preparation" is attested from 1896.
updated on January 17, 2018
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Dictionary entries near cold turkey
colander
Colchis
cold
cold feet
cold shoulder
cold turkey
cold war
cold-blooded
cold-hearted
coldly
coldness