IdiomBody & Senses
English
Englishdo an about-face
Meaning: To change one's behavior or mind abruptly and (often) apparently without reason.
Example: “The senator did an about-face and voted for the bill he had criticized.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Virer sa cuti Literally: To turn one's skin test
Origin: From the military command "About face!" ordering a soldier to turn to face the opposite direction. The figurative sense of a complete reversal of opinion or policy is found from the 19th century.
More English idioms
- get it in the neck To receive something unpleasant, such as criticism or punishment.
- get something off one's chest To disclose or talk about something that is bothering or worrying one.
- get something on the nose To do or understand something perfectly.
- get something through one's head To understand something that is difficult, especially because it is a shock, unwanted, or…
- give someone a hand To help someone.
- give one's right arm to do something To want something very much.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Red lorry, yellow lorry. The 'l/r' alternation drill — deceptively short, yet almost impossible to say fast withou…
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
Keep exploring