talk turkey

Cultural  

1. To discuss in a straightforward manner: “The time has come to talk turkey about our national debt.”

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talk turkey Idioms  

1. Speak plainly, get to the point, as in Don't call me until you're ready to talk turkey. This expression allegedly comes from a tale about an Indian and a white man who hunted together and divided the game. When the white man said, “I'll take the turkey and you the buzzard, or you take the buzzard and I the turkey,” the Indian replied, “Talk turkey to me.” Whether or not this tale had a true basis, the term was recorded in its present meaning by about 1840.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

talk turkey

Here, some Seattle-area chefs/restaurateurs talk turkey, tips and more.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2023

"I think Terry is facing his own mortality, and I think when people are reaching that point in their life, they cut through the pleasantries and talk turkey," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2023

More likely, "talk turkey" came from pleasant conversation at Thanksgiving dinner, or maybe negotiations between Native Americans and European colonists over the cost of poultry.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2021

Even if one doesn’t talk turkey, a fighting purr is a powerful disincentive to visit the car wash.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 24, 2019

I’ve got to talk turkey to those fellows to-morrow.

From The Turner Twins by Ralph Henry Barbour