turn a phrase

verb

To create a particular linguistic expression which is strikingly clear, appropriate, and memorable.

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Meanings

verbturn a phrase (third-person singular simple present turns a phrase, present participle turning a phrase, simple past and past participle turned a phrase)

present singular third person turns a phrase · participle present turning a phrase · participle past turned a phrase · past turned a phrase

  1. idiomaticTo create a particular linguistic expression which is strikingly clear, appropriate, and memorable.

    "Ah, how gracefully these wild northern men can turn a phrase!" whispered Chrysophrasia.

    1887, Francis Marion Crawford, chapter 8, in Paul Patoff
    3 more examples

    Gerard coloured all over at the compliment; but not knowing how to turn a phrase equal to the occasion, asked her if he should resume her picture.

    1861, Charles Reade, chapter 61, in The Cloister and the Hearth

    Everyone who was anyone at Long Barton spoke in careful and correct English, but no one ever troubled to turn a phrase.

    1906, Edith Nesbit, chapter 3, in The Incomplete Amorist

    Nobody, however, can take issue with Purdy's ability to turn a phrase. He has that rare Joycean knack for illuminating an entire universe with one simple detail.

    2004, Elisabeth Egan, "A world of talking cats and lost, lonely boys" (review of Moe's Villa and Other Stories by James Purdy), San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Dec. (retrieved 4 June 2008)
Cite this entry
APA

turn a phrase. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20a%20phrase

MLA

“turn a phrase.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20a%20phrase. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turn a phrase,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turn%20a%20phrase.

Source: turn a phrase on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.