Dictionary

turn of phrase en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (countable) An expression which is worded in a distinctive way, especially one which is particularly memorable or artful.
   • "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. 1922, Dorothy Canfield, “Chapter 43”, in Rough-Hewn:
2. (uncountable) A distinctive way of wording things, a distinctive way of writing or speaking.
   • This author has a beautiful turn of phrase.

Forms

Relateds

turn a phrase · figure of speech

Synonyms

style · prose

Translations (25)

fi sanakäänne (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · fi lauseparsi (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu beszédfordulat (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · ru оборо́т ре́чи (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · de Redewendung (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu szólásmód (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · pl zwrot (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · fi lausekäänne (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · fr tour de phrase (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu szóhasználat (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · gl xiro (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu szólás (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · fr tournure de phrase (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · es giro de frase (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · it modo di dire (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · ca gir (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · it proprietà di linguaggio (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · it giro di parole (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu kifejezés (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu szófordulat (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu kifejezésmód (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · es expresión (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · hu fordulat (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · eo esprimo (expression which is worded in a distinctive way) · it modo di esprimersi (expression which is worded in a distinctive way)