talk turkey

present singular third person talks turkey · participle present talking turkey · participle past talked turkey · past talked turkey

1. USidiomaticTo talk or negotiate plainly, frankly, or seriously.

   I'm here to talk turkey. What's your price?

   1918, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 19, in The Valley of the Giants

   3 more examples

   An Erie car loaded with live turkeys . . . was delivered to the New-York and New-England Railroad yesterday. . . . This first cargo is symbolical of the fact that they will be able hereafter to "talk turkey" to all competitors for New-England business.

   1881 December 13, “The Erie to ‘Talk Turkey’”, in New York Times, retrieved 21 Oct 2008, page 8

   This will mean talking turkey about the timing of steps for each side to take, and verification measures.

   2005 July 13, “Opinion: Korean advance”, in International Herald Tribune, retrieved 21 Oct 2008

   Is this a good time to talk turkey? I just need to go over some quick business.

   2025 October 31, Trey Parker, “The Woman in the Hat”, in South Park, season 28, episode 2, spoken by Kyle Schwartz

   Synonyms: get to the point