Meanings
alternative turnip for the books
- humorousA very unexpected surprise or occurrence.
You've got these Swedes in your office—that was a turnip for the books. Do go on.
1974, Gordon Williams, Big Morning Blues, London […]: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN, page 1021 more example
Swedes fired arrows into their corpses, though we don't know why. (This is better than corpses firing arrows into swedes which would be a real turnip for the book.)
1999, Terry Deary, The Savage Stone Age, London: Hippo, →ISBN, page 43
Origin
A humorous variation on turn up for the book.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
turnip for the book. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turnip%20for%20the%20book
“turnip for the book.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turnip%20for%20the%20book. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “turnip for the book,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/turnip%20for%20the%20book.
Source: turnip for the book on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.