Talking Turkey

I'm sure this is not a true story but it turns up in almost identical form all over the literature and the Internet:


In early settlement times, a white man and a Native American went out hunting together in the Maine Woods. After a long day they had only bagged a crow and a turkey.

In an attempt to gain the turkey for himself, the white man proposed that they split the day's catch as follows:

"How about I take the turkey and you take the crow? Or, if you prefer, you take the crow and I'll take the turkey."


The Native thought about this for only a moment:

"You are not talking turkey to me; not one bit".

It is not clear to me what this story infers. You can read it either way, but it is often cited to be the origin of the phrase "talking turkey"

The modern meaning seems to be about negotiating for a good deal, as in buying a car. After getting nowhere in negotiations and then reaching a point where the dealer is making concessions, you might say "Now you are talking turkey".