Boo turkey

Posted by ESC on November 14, 2009 at 13:58

In Reply to: Boo turkey posted by Debbie on November 13, 2009 at 22:28:

: What is the origin of the phrase "boo turkey", as in "I don't know boo turkey about that"?

I am guessing that it is a variation of this:

pea turkey -- a call for turkeys to eat. "Chickie, chickie -- pea turks, pea, pea, pea, pea." Used figuratively as "not say pea turkey...expressing displeasure with another's lack of manners or breach of etiquette..." "He got up and left without saying pea turkey." Also, "never gave an invitation or offered information." From "Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English" by Michael B. Montgomery and Joseph S. Hall (University of Tennessee Press, 2004).Page 438. It's similar to a phrase I remember from my West Virginia childhood -- didn't say dog. See West Virginia Talk: wva.homestead.com/ WVaTalk.html Regarding the bad manners issue, guests in my part of the country didn't just get up and leave. Leave-taking was a long process. I've written about the process and if I can locate that document, I'll post it.