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

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

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

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

If Donnegan hadn't cleaned up on you, you'd have had to talk turkey with me.

From Gunman's Reckoning by Brand, Max