“Talking turkey” comes from an encounter between a white settler and a Native American in 1848.
After they had bagged a turkey and a buzzard, the fast-talking white man suggested,
“You can have the buzzard and I will take the turkey, or I will take the turkey and you can have the buzzard”,
or in modern language, “Heads I win, tails you lose.”
The Native’s response, “Why don’t you talk turkey with me?” was passed on so often by those overhearing the argument that talking turkey became part of the language.
Related Posts
-
How Did the Turkey Get Its Name and Where Does the Word Turkey Come From?
It was apparently just about four hundred years ago that the bird, native to Africa, that we know today as guinea fowl was imported into England by way of Turkey, even though the…
-
Where Is Turkey Located In the Middle East and Which Part of Turkey Lies In Europe?
A small part of Turkey lies in a region of southern Europe called Thrace, which also includes parts of Greece and Bulgaria. Most of Turkey is in the Middle East, on a mountainous…
-
How Did the Expression “Rings True” For Something Honest Originate and What Does the Saying Mean?
In the nineteenth century, before the mint started issuing coins with reeding or grooves on the edges to prevent it, some slightly dishonest people would shave the precious metal just enough to go…
-
Where does the expression “talking through one’s hat” come from and What does it mean?
The expression "talking through one's hat" means: To talk nonsense; to indulge in fanciful dreams. Just how this expression came into everyday American speech is now a mystery. From the printed evidence it's…
-
Where does the expression “talking to one like a Dutch uncle” come from and What does it mean?
We have previously expressed the opinion that the concept of a severe reprimand from an uncle of Dutch ancestry appeared to be American. Though we have nothing to offer to contradict that opinion,…
-
What does the expression “as poor as Job’s turkey” mean and Where does it come from?
Judge Haliburton, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, has about vanished from the memories of most Americans as one of the earliest of our humorists; yet he was the "Mark Twain" of the early nineteenth century.…
