turn of phrase

English

Etymology

Compare trope, with same sense of “turn” to mean indirect language.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

turn of phrase (countable and uncountable, plural turns of phrase)

1. (countable) An expression which is worded in a distinctive way, especially one which is particularly memorable or artful.
   • 1922, Dorothy Canfield, “Chapter 43”, in Rough-Hewn:

     "I should call it a most nice sort of surprise," remarked the girl with a quaintly un-English turn of phrase which he had already noticed and thought the most delightful thing in the world.

2. (uncountable) A distinctive way of wording things, a distinctive way of writing or speaking.

   Synonyms: style, prose

   This author has a beautiful turn of phrase.

Related terms

• turn a phrase

Translations

expression which is worded in a distinctive way

• Catalan: gir (ca) m
• Finnish: sanakäänne, lausekäänne, lauseparsi
• French: tournure de phrase f, tour de phrase (fr) m
• German: Redewendung (de) f
• Hungarian: szófordulat (hu), fordulat (hu), szóhasználat (hu), beszédfordulat (hu), kifejezésmód (hu), kifejezés (hu), szólásmód (hu), szólás (hu)
• Italian: giro di parole m, modo di dire (it) m, proprietà di linguaggio f, modo di esprimersi m
• Polish: zwrot (pl) m
• Russian: оборо́т ре́чи (ru) (oborót réči)

See also

• figure of speech

Further reading

• “turn of phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.