Englishdo someone a good turn
Meaning: To do someone a favor without having been asked and without expecting a favor in return.
Example: “The stranger who fixed our flat tire really did us a good turn.”
Origin: "Turn" carried the sense of a deliberate act of goodwill or service in English as far back as Chaucer, who has "hadde I nat doon a freendes torn to thee?" around 1386 — a friend's turn, meaning a favor done in friendship. A 15th-century text pairs the idea with its opposite just as naturally: "I have yet in my mind a little good turn that thou did me," alongside "thou hast done me an ill turn," showing "turn" working equally well for harm as for help depending on which adjective it's paired with. John Heywood's 1546 proverb collection fixes the now-standard reciprocal version, "one good turn asks another," the ancestor of the modern "one good turn deserves another."
More English idioms
- dressed to kill Dressed to make a strong impression, usually in fancy or stylish clothes.
- drum someone out of the corps To expel someone from a group or organization.
- dyed in the wool Having a trait that is thoroughly ingrained or basic to one's nature.
- eager beaver A person who is very excited and enthusiastic about pursuing some activity.
- eat one's hat To do something unpleasant in the case of being proven wrong.
- eleventh hour Late or last-minute.
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