Go Cold Turkey Meaning, Synonyms, Usage With Examples

Go Cold Turkey meaning is to quit or stop a habit abruptly, especially in the context of substance abuse. Going cold turkey denotes that the person is choosing to immediately and completely stop the usage of a particular substance without gradually reducing its consumption or consulting a medical professional for their support.

Go cold turkey is an idiom which was originated in the early 20th century and is derived from the concept of ‘cold turkey’ which is a simple and plain dish and requires very little preparation. Just like plain turkey doesn’t require any ingredients or spices, going cold turkey involves the habit of quitting an addictive habit suddenly or abruptly.

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Usage With Examples

The phrase Going cold turkey can be used in different ways and situations but is mostly associated with quitting any addictive habit, such as smoking pot, consuming alcohol, drugs or any other harmful substance. Consider this example, ‘John was a chain smoker for the past 10 years, and suddenly he kicked this harmful habit by going cold turkey.’

Here are some examples of the go cold turkey idiom, which will give you ideas about how to use it in different situations and times.

• ‘Sarah has been struggling with alcohol addiction and suddenly she decided to go cold turkey and quit drinking.’
• ‘I’ve been relying on sleeping pills for so many years, and now I have finally decided to go cold turkey and stop this harmful habit.’
• ‘In an effort to improve his health, Sam decided to go cold turkey on his sugary snacks, completely excluding them from his diet.’

Go Cold Turkey Synonyms and Similar Words

Go cold turkey has a lot of similar words and synonyms, which can be used in different ways. Here are some popularly known synonyms for the idiom go cold turkey:

• Give up
• Break the habit cold
• Give up outright
• Stop all at once
• Cease Immediately

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Go Cold Turkey Meaning Quiz

Shanaya decided to go cold turkey on coffee and switched to consuming herbal tea because:

• She hates the smell of coffee
• She is promoting herbal tea
• Caffeine in coffee was affecting her sleep and anxiety levels.

Ans. Caffeine in coffee was affecting her sleep and anxiety levels.

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This was all about the idiom go cold meaning and examples. Hope you understood the concept where it’s used. For more such blogs, follow Leverage Edu.