Where'd the phrase 'going cold turkey' originate from?
600354
origin- In the state of drug withdrawal the addicts blood is directed to the internal organs leaving the skin white and with goose bumps. \nmeaning- The state addicts are in when withdrawing from drug addition, especially heroin.
994122
First of all, the quote actually goes "The coldest WINTER I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" (hence the supposed humor).  However, he did quote someone along those same lines, though he referred to Paris (see the link below).  No one is sure who actually said that or perhaps started misquoting Twain.
867005
Cold turkey... its a harder, but much quicker journey
679671
i believe the expression was 1st used by a writer in a novel, one of the spy writers,(le Carre or Shute or someone of that genre) but i can't think of his name at the moment.\n\nAnd i belive it is both because relations between East and West became cold after WW2 and also becasue no actually fighting took place, it was more a battle of the minds as opposed to a typical war.
1138046
I think it comes from medevil times when they believed that if you actually went and got some of the hair of the dog that had bitten you it would heal faster or something. I know it is something along those lines. Actually here this is from wikipedia:\n\n"The origin of the phrase is unclear, but instances of the phrase have appeared in English literature since the time of Shakespeare. E. Cobham Brewer writes in the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898): "In Scotland it is a popular belief that a few hairs of the dog that bit you applied to the wound will prevent evil consequences."
337005
"IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN has been traced back to 'Teacher's Manual' (1840) by American educator Thomas H. Palmer and 'The Children of the New Forest' (1847) by English novelist Frederick Maryat (1792-1848). Originally a maxim used to encourage American schoolchildren to do their homework. Palmer (1782-1861) wrote in his 'Teacher's Manual': 'Tis a lesson you should heed, try, try again. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.' The saying was popularized by Edward Hickson (1803-70) in his 'Moral Song' (1857).\n\nI prefer the W C Field's version: "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Then quit, there is no use being a damned fool about it!"
713364
Someone on mindlesscrap.com tried to answer this, but I think they came up with a very inadequate answer:\n\n "The phrase started up in the 1980s by teens in the United States.  It's an offshoot of the use of the word "cool" that had been in existence since the 1940s.  That usage was associated with the cool jazz movement of the 1940s, especially Charlie Parker's 1947 record Cool Blues."\n\nI like my guess better:\n\nIt came from the Grateful Dead culture.  At each G.D concert, there'd be people who would serve up vegetarian fare and love.  Someone started saying that, inspired by the cold bean dish which made a great dip, and didn't require any extra fuel.
292922
not so sure of the origin and history behind the phrase but if you find it ranining cat's and dogs be careful not to step in a poodle... i looked it up for you and yu can find the answer at the link below
624846
I have a reference from 1997 that already says it is old:\nhttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/forum/august97/terror01.html\n\nThe fact that numerous sources fail to give the original source of the quote suggests that no-one actually knows when it was first used.
814904
Good question! I didnt know the answer so I looked on the internet and found this:\n\nThe best evidence obtainable at present points to Manute Bol, the 7'7" Sudanese NBA player whose native tongue was Dinka, as the inventor, sometime in the 1980s, of this now–ubiquitous phrase.\n\nGeoffrey K. Pullum told the story in his December 7, 2005 blog post:\n\nHere is the relevant portion: \nKen Arneson emailed me to say that he heard the phrase was first used by the Sudanese immigrant basketball player Manute Bol, believed to have been a native speaker of Dinka (a very interesting and thoroughly un-Indo-Europeanlike language of the Nilo-Saharan superfamily). \n\nSays Arneson, "I first heard the phrase here in the Bay Area when Bol joined the Golden State Warriors in 1988, when several Warriors players started using the phrase." \n\nAnd Ben Zimmer's rummaging in the newspaper files down in the basement of Language Log Plaza produced a couple of early 1989 quotes that confirm this convincingly:\n\nSt. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 10, 1989: When he [Manute Bol] throws a bad pass, he'll say, "My bad" instead of "My fault," and now all the other players say the same thing.\n\nUSA Today, Jan. 27, 1989: After making a bad pass, instead of saying "my fault," Manute Bol says, "my bad." Now all the other Warriors say it too.\n\nSo all of this is compatible with a date of origin for the phrase in the early 1980s (Manute Bol first joined the NBA in 1985 but came to the USA before that, around 1980). \n\nProfessor Ron McClamrock of the Philosophy Department at SUNY Albany tells me he recalls very definitely hearing the phrase on the basketball court when he was in graduate school at MIT in the early 1980s, so the news stories above could be picking the story up rather late; but it is still just possible that Manute Bol was the originator, because he played for Cleveland State and Bridgeport University in the early 1980s, and his neologism just could have spread from there to other schools in the northeast, such as MIT.
739327
stop cold turkey.it is the best way to quit smoking.
1072287
One possible origin for the phrase is an incident said to have taken place during the siege of the Alamo in 1836, when William Barret Travis drew a line in the sand with his sword and urged those willing to stay and defend the fort to step across it. Unfortunately, this heroic story seems to have been invented by a 19th century promoter long after the fall of the Alamo. But the myth itself probably greatly popularized the phrase, so it does count as an origin of sorts even if the incident itself was apocryphal. \n\nAnother possible origin dates back to the time of the Roman Empire. It seems that one of the Macedonian kings, a bit short of cash, decided to invade Egypt, then a Roman protectorate. His army was met at the border by a lone Roman senator named Popillius Laenas, who ordered the king to withdraw. The king began to stall for time, so Popillius Laenas drew a circle in the sand around the king and demanded that the king agree to withdraw his army before he stepped out of the circle. The king, apparently impressed by the senator's nerve (or, more likely, by the Roman Empire in general), withdrew. Incidentally, not only is this account verified by contemporary historians, but it also may be the only known instance of a line drawn in the sand actually stopping someone.
102298
It refers to the Jonestown mass murder/suicide in 1978, where hundreds of people were forced into a tent and made to drink poisoned Flavor Aid (though many people believe it was KoolAid).\n\nMany people use the expression to refer to those who blindly follow a leader into a dangerous or lethal situation.
269154
Timothy Francis Leary, Ph. D (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American writer, psychologist, campaigner for psychedelic drug research and use, 1960s counterculture icon and computer software designer. He is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of LSD. During the 1960s, he coined and popularized the catch phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out."
243061
I think it means things are going to get worse before they get better. I really like that quote. I do not know where it originated but it is inspiring.
947742
NONE it is dangerous to stop meds cold turkey, taper off!
821509
I read a magazine article saying that in the old days when they had a worker in their village they wanted to get rid of they burnt down that person's house so that they would leave the village. That is where "fired" came from.\n\nAt least that is how the magazine's Historic Trivia column described the origin.