I'm a new unfuggedy and you can think of me as your friendly guide to the English language,

writing, history, rules, and cool stuff.

Today I have a segment about turkey idioms, a segment about the word cornucopia, and a

follow-up on the word moist.

Today is Thanksgiving, the US holiday that many people jokingly call turkey day.

That's because most people celebrate the occasion by baking a turkey, the domesticated version

of a member of the Fesent and Grouse family native to the Americas.

Why do we call this bird a turkey?

Well, it's a case of mistaken identity.

For centuries before Europeans came to North America, Turkish traders were importing African

Guinea Fowl into Europe.

The birds were known as turkey cocks.

When North American traders started to import our bird from the Americas into Europe,

they were sometimes mistaken for turkey cocks, and then they came to be known as turkeys,

and the names stuck.

So yes, the bird turkey is named after the country turkey, even that they don't

actually come from turkey.

We also have a number of phrases and idioms that use the word turkey.

First off, we have the expression to talk turkey.

This means to speak plainly or to get down to business.

For example, if someone is hedging about whether they want to go out with you, you might say,

let's talk turkey.

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