ɡoʊ koʊld ˈtɜːrki
General
informal
intermediate
- Literally:
- To eat cold turkey meat
What does "go cold turkey" mean?
- To abruptly stop an addictive habit without gradual reduction
- To quit something suddenly and completely
Examples
- He quit smoking cold turkey after 20 years.
- I decided to go cold turkey on social media for a month.
- Going cold turkey on caffeine gave me terrible headaches.
Origin
Possibly from the cold, clammy skin (like uncooked turkey) of someone experiencing drug withdrawal. First recorded in American English in the 1920s.
How to use it
Originally about drug addiction but now used for any habit. Implies difficulty and sudden cessation.
Similar expressions
quit abruptly
stop suddenly
give up completely
Opposites
taper off
gradually reduce
wean off
Related idioms
- actions speak louder than words
What people do is more important than what they say
- better safe than sorry
It's better to be careful and prevent problems than to take risks
- so far so good
Things have gone well up to now
- easier said than done
Something is more difficult to do than to talk about
- make a long story short
To summarize or get to the point
- to make matters worse
In addition to existing problems
Use it in a practice answer
Try "go cold turkey" in a CELPIP-style Speaking or Writing task. The AI feedback tells you whether your word choice worked.