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, Seattle-area chefs talk turkey, beverages and more before Thanksgiving.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 19, 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

Still, sitting down with the producing-directing team of Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato behind the World of Wonder documentary to finally talk turkey, Chastain was met with two sets of raised eyebrows.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2021

Whatever the origin, though, when we "talk turkey," we're engaging in the kind of straightforward, honest speech the scheming hunter denied his hunting partner.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2021

"Come, Severance; talk turkey, as you did to me."

From Success A Novel by Adams, Samuel Hopkins