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Glite Dictionary
turkey coma

turkey coma

7.2
A feeling of being very sleepy after a large holiday meal, often with turkey
  • noun
  • /ˈtɜrki ˈkoʊmə/
  • Informal
translation icon : coma de pavo
  • Everyone lounged around in a turkey coma after Thanksgiving dinner.

Examples

  • After dinner, I fell into a turkey coma.

  • Half the family was in a turkey coma before dessert was even served.

  • I tried to stay awake, but the turkey coma was too strong.

  • Many people experience turkey comas during Thanksgiving.

  • Everyone lounged around in a turkey coma after Thanksgiving dinner.

  • Half the family was in a turkey coma before dessert was even served.

  • I tried to stay awake, but the turkey coma was too strong.

Synonyms

food coma
vsturkey coma
  • Informal
1 4.3

A very sleepy feeling after eating a large meal

occurs after holiday feasts with the traditional roast meat rather than any large meal

How Sleepy

sleep
178 1.0
turkey coma
  • Informal
7.2
drowsiness
6 1.8
tiredness
10 1.0
alertness
14 2.9

Surface Forms

turkey coma singular
turkey comas plural

Morphology

turkey + coma

The components 'turkey' (a large meal food) plus 'coma' (medical deep unconsciousness) combine to create a metaphorical meaning of extreme post-meal sleepiness; the basic idea of being very sleepy after eating turkey is recoverable from the parts. However, the use of 'coma' in a figurative/exaggerated sense (as in 'food coma') is a semantic shift that not all B1 learners will automatically recognize, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The phrase turkey coma comes from the picture of people so full after a big holiday dinner that they slump into a sleepy 'coma' and the turkey is blamed. That's why turkey coma means 'feeling very sleepy after a big meal'.