"turn the tables" meaning in All languages combined

See turn the tables on Wiktionary

Verb [English]

Audio: En-au-turn the tables.ogg Forms: turn tables [canonical], turns the tables [present, singular, third-person], turning the tables [participle, present], turned the tables [participle, past], turned the tables [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*|head=turn (the) tables}} turn (the) tables (third-person singular simple present turns the tables, present participle turning the tables, simple past and past participle turned the tables)
  1. (idiomatic) To reverse a situation, so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged. Tags: idiomatic Related terms: table-turning, turntable, turn the table, worm turns, taste of one's own medicine, the shoe is on the other foot, turn the tide, walk a mile in someone's shoes Translations: 扭轉局勢 (Chinese Mandarin), 扭转局势 (niǔzhuǎn júshì) (Chinese Mandarin), 反敗為勝 (Chinese Mandarin), 反败为胜 (fǎnbàiwéishèng) (Chinese Mandarin), 反超 (fǎnchāo) (Chinese Mandarin), de kansen keren (Dutch), kääntää tilanne päälaelleen (Finnish), keikauttaa tilanne päälaelleen (Finnish), la roue tourne (French), les mouches ont changé d’âne (French), den Spieß umdrehen (German), das Blatt wenden (German), die Rollen tauschen (German), fordul a kocka (Hungarian), felülkerekedik (Hungarian), snúa á (Icelandic), snúa við taflinu (Icelandic), snúa vörn í sókn (Icelandic), komið annað hljóð í strokkinn (english: the shoe is on the other foot) (Icelandic), cambiare le carte in tavola (Italian), 形勢逆転 (Japanese), odwracać sytuację [imperfective] (Polish), odwrócić sytuację [perfective] (Polish), virar o jogo (Portuguese), cambiar las tornas (Spanish), dar la vuelta a la tortilla (Spanish), lật ngược thế cờ (Vietnamese)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

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          "ref": "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:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "ref": "2011 December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian:",
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        "To reverse a situation, so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged."
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        [
          "situation",
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        [
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          "shift",
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        "(idiomatic) To reverse a situation, so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged."
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          "word": "turntable"
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          "word": "turn the table"
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          "word": "worm turns"
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          "word": "taste of one's own medicine"
        },
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        {
          "word": "walk a mile in someone's shoes"
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          "word": "扭轉局勢"
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          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
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          "word": "扭转局势"
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          "word": "反败为胜"
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          "lang": "Dutch",
          "word": "de kansen keren"
        },
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          "lang": "Finnish",
          "word": "kääntää tilanne päälaelleen"
        },
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          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "word": "keikauttaa tilanne päälaelleen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "word": "la roue tourne"
        },
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          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "word": "les mouches ont changé d’âne"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "word": "den Spieß umdrehen"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "word": "das Blatt wenden"
        },
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          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "word": "die Rollen tauschen"
        },
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          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "word": "fordul a kocka"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "word": "felülkerekedik"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "word": "snúa á"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "word": "snúa við taflinu"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "word": "snúa vörn í sókn"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "english": "the shoe is on the other foot",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "word": "komið annað hljóð í strokkinn"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "word": "cambiare le carte in tavola"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "word": "形勢逆転"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "odwracać sytuację"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "odwrócić sytuację"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "word": "virar o jogo"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "word": "cambiar las tornas"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "word": "dar la vuelta a la tortilla"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "word": "lật ngược thế cờ"
        }
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  "lang_code": "en",
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      "word": "table-turning"
    },
    {
      "word": "turntable"
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    {
      "word": "turn the table"
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      "word": "worm turns"
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    },
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        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
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        "Terms with Icelandic translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
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          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
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        {
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          "type": "quote"
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        {
          "ref": "2011 December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
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          "ref": "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:",
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          "type": "quote"
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        "To reverse a situation, so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged."
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          "disadvantage",
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        "(idiomatic) To reverse a situation, so that the advantage has shifted to the party which was previously disadvantaged."
      ],
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "word": "扭轉局勢"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "niǔzhuǎn júshì",
      "word": "扭转局势"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "word": "反敗為勝"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "fǎnbàiwéishèng",
      "word": "反败为胜"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "fǎnchāo",
      "word": "反超"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "word": "de kansen keren"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "word": "kääntää tilanne päälaelleen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "word": "keikauttaa tilanne päälaelleen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "word": "la roue tourne"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "word": "les mouches ont changé d’âne"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "word": "den Spieß umdrehen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "word": "das Blatt wenden"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "word": "die Rollen tauschen"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "word": "fordul a kocka"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "word": "felülkerekedik"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "word": "snúa á"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "word": "snúa við taflinu"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "word": "snúa vörn í sókn"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "english": "the shoe is on the other foot",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "word": "komið annað hljóð í strokkinn"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "word": "cambiare le carte in tavola"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "word": "形勢逆転"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "odwracać sytuację"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "odwrócić sytuację"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "word": "virar o jogo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "word": "cambiar las tornas"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "word": "dar la vuelta a la tortilla"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "word": "lật ngược thế cờ"
    }
  ],
  "word": "turn the tables"
}

Download raw JSONL data for turn the tables meaning in All languages combined (6.0kB)

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  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "verb",
  "title": "turn the tables",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "page/2517",
  "msg": "UNIMPLEMENTED parse_translation_template: trans-top-see {1: 'to reverse a situation so that the advantage has shifted', 2: 'the biter bit', 3: 'beat someone at their own game'}",
  "path": [
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  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "verb",
  "title": "turn the tables",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.