Dictionary

turn the tables en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To reverse a situation, usually so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged.
   • Since its conception, the European Union has been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world. But as the EU faces what Angela Merkel has called its toughest hour since the second world war, the tables appear to be turning. 2011 December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian:
   • That night, she took in my show. And then she turned the tables on me: she waited for me. 1986, Rusty Brown, “Always Me”, in Marcy Adelman, editor, Long Time Passing: Lives Of Older Lesbians, page 149:
   • Well, the tables are turned—the times are changed. A peaceful and unoffending man might have expected from a neighbour, now powerful in his turn, such protection when walking in the paths of the law, as all men, subjects of the realm, have a right to expect even from perfect strangers. 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter I, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 21:
   • The execution of Littlefinger is formal, although his trial admittedly gives us ample opportunity to appreciate the tables finally turning on the man who got the ball rolling on all this bloodshed. 2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:
   • But, oh, how the tables have turned. Now students are complaining on sites like Rate My Professors about their instructors’ overreliance on A.I. and scrutinizing course materials for words ChatGPT tends to overuse, like “crucial” and “delve.” 2025 May 14, Kashmir Hill, “College Professors Are Using ChatGPT. Some Students Aren’t Happy.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • "The tables are turned, my red friend!" said the hunter, coolly. "It's your life, not mine, this time!" 1884, Horatio Alger, chapter 30, in Do and Dare:

Forms

Deriveds

how the turntables · the turns have tabled

Relateds

walk a mile in someone's shoes · turn the tide · worm turns · turntable · table-turning · taste of one's own medicine · the shoe is on the other foot · turn the table

Translations (25)

is snúa á (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · hu fordul a kocka (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · is snúa við taflinu (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · de das Blatt wenden (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · fi keikauttaa tilanne päälaelleen (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · is komið annað hljóð í strokkinn (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · cmn 反敗為勝 /反败为胜 (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · ja 形勢逆転 (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · pl odwracać sytuację (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · pt virar o jogo (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · es volver(se) las tornas (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · es dar(se) vuelta la tortilla (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · fi kääntää tilanne päälaelleen (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · it cambiare le carte in tavola (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · de den Spieß umdrehen (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · fr la roue tourne (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · nl de kansen keren (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · de die Rollen tauschen (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · hu felülkerekedik (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · vi lật ngược thế cờ (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · fr les mouches ont changé d'âne (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · cmn 反超 (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · cmn 扭轉局勢 /扭转局势 (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · pl odwrócić sytuację (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted) · is snúa vörn í sókn (to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted)