15

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2024

Linguistic Fingerprints Part 7

Cold turkey – cultural connotations

Vivid metaphors are well-loved in the English language.

The English idiom „cold turkey“ is a phrase that denotes abruptly and completely overcoming addiction. In my eyes, the literal German translation "kalter Entzug," falls short of capturing the vivid imagery of cold turkey.

So the English expression conveys a vivid mental image to me, while the German expression is more clinical and direct. A precise more straightforward description in German vs. the vivid feeling of cold turkey skin, yikes

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