Keesha is chatting with her classmate Alberto in the common room of their dorm.

    Keesha: Hi, Alberto. Do you want some ice cream?

    Alberto: No thanks. I gave up eating sweets.

    Keesha: Come on! A spoon or two won't hurt you.

    Alberto: No, really. I've given it up completely.

    Keesha: Oh, so you've gone cold turkey, huh?

    Alberto: Turkey? I can eat turkey. It's not sweet.

    Keesha: No, I said "go cold turkey." It's an expression, meaning to stop something completely, all at once, instead of little by little.

    Alberto: I don't get it.

    Keesha: Let's say someone is addicted to drugs. Sometimes, that person could get treatments--say, with other drugs--to help them quit. But others might just quit outright, without help. This is called "going cold turkey."

    Alberto: Why? What does turkey have to do with quitting drugs?

    Keesha: No one knows. It's one of the many idioms whose origins are lost.

    Alberto: I see. Is it anything like getting "cold feet?"

    Keesha: No, to get cold feet means to think about changing one's mind. "Jane got cold feet and decided not to marry Joe."

    Alberto: I see. Could that be literal? Like a sign of being nervous?

    Keesha: Maybe.

    Alberto: How about a "cold shoulder?"

    Keesha: To "get the cold shoulder" means to be rejected.

    Alberto: Like, "I asked Susie to dance with me, but she gave me the cold shoulder."

    Keesha: Exactly.

    Alberto: What's a "cold fish?"

    Keesha: That would be someone who is not warm and friendly.

    Alberto: So, maybe, Susie wouldn't dance with me because she doesn't like me. But maybe she's just a cold fish.

    Keesha: Good one! And if someone is really unfriendly, we can describe him or her as being "cold as ice."

    Alberto: Like that girl in "Frozen!"

    Keesha: Yeah, right!

    Alberto: What about a person who's friendly sometimes, but at other times is unfriendly?

    Keesha: We can say that person "blows hot and cold." In fact, we can use that for anyone who frequently changes sides on an issue.

    Alberto: Okay. I heard a couple of sayings with "blood," too--"cold-blooded" and for the "blood to run cold."

    Keesha: The first one, to be cold-blooded, is a little like being cold as ice--in other words, unfriendly. It can also mean that person is cruel.

    Alberto: I see.

    Keesha: We also say that someone might do something "in cold blood," without passion or feelings.

    Alberto: Uh-huh. And "my blood ran cold?"

    Keesha: That means one is afraid. "He told me a scary story that made my blood run cold."

    Alberto: Got it. Thanks for your help, Keesha!

    Keesha: It was my pleasure.