turn up for the book

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English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Originally from racecourse betting, from turn up (stroke of luck) and book (record of betting; bookmaker).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Noun[edit]

turn up for the book (plural (rare) turn ups for the book)

  1. (idiomatic) A very unexpected, usually pleasant, surprise.
    • 1987, Edward Dryhurst, Gilt Off the Gingerbread, →OCLC:
      Her mother kept well away from us, which was a turn up for the book, and for the time being at any rate, I was a model husband.
    • 2000 March 12, Stuart Barnes, “Swindon stunner for Curbishley”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
      What a turn up for the book. After 12 successive league wins [] Charlton were nobbled by the First Division's no-hopers, who profited from a goalkeeping bloomer then held on to their lead for dear life.
    • 2011, Michael Frayn, My Father's Fortune: A Life, →ISBN, page 104:
      All these turn ups for the book had lasting consequences.
    • 2013, David Stuart Davies, A Taste for Blood, →ISBN:
      'Well, boyo, this is a turn up for the book,' observed my friend David Llewellyn without a trace of irony. 'I never expected to wind up in a hospital bed next to you.'π

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