Meanings
- humorousSynonym of how the tables have turned.
“Wasn’t Adam a dick until, like, twelve seconds ago?” “How the turntables,” Adam murmured.
2021, Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis, Berkley, →ISBN, page 3375 more examples
Michael Scott Paper Company to see Mr. David Wallace. I believe we’re expected. [David and Charles walk out of conference room] Well, well, well. How the turntables…
2009 April 23, Charlie Grandy, “Broke”, in The Office, season 5, episode 25, spoken by Michael Scott (Steve Carell), via NBCSeoul was one of my favorite new restaurants in 2019, and it’s one of my favorite takeout places during the great pandemic in 2020. Oh how the turntables — you get it.
2020 May 13, Jean Le Beouf, “Takeout options abound from Seoul”, in Naples Daily News, page 2DSix months ago, Sonder had never released a barrel-aged stout. My, how the turntables. Sonder’s going to have its biggest stout release ever on Black Friday, with “five uniquely crafted” variants of Family Tradition.
2020 November 27, Matt Koesters, “Black Friday special beer releases in Cincinnati”, in The Cincinnati Enquirer, volume 180th, number 232, page 2DMany church leaders and laypeople (myself included) wrote him off for trying to re-create a church environment online … oh, how the turntables, though. COVID-19 forced all of us to shelter in place, and the majority of megachurches had to bring church online.
2021, Benjamin Kirby, “Six Flags over Jesus: Where Does Production Value Stop and Vanity Start?”, in PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities, Nashville, Tenn.: W Publishing, →ISBN, page 152It was only a few short days ago when Michigan State fans were upset with Syracuse avoiding the play-in game as an 11 seed. To paraphrase Michael Scott from “The Office” … how the turntables.
2021 March 21, Phil Friend, “NCAA tournament bets, predictions in Sunday’s second-round games”, in Lansing State Journal, volume 166, number 321, page 5BSynonyms: how the tables have turned
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseSynonym of how the tables have turned.
Origin
From the episode “Broke” of the American mockumentary sitcom television series The Office, which aired on 23 April 2009; see quotation.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
how the turntables. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20the%20turntables
“how the turntables.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20the%20turntables. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “how the turntables,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/how%20the%20turntables.
Source: how the turntables on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.