From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishturn of phraseturn of phrasea) EXPRESSthe ability to say things in a clever or funny way Kate has a colourful turn of phrase. b) WORD, PHRASE, OR SENTENCEa particular way of saying something SYN expression What a strange turn of phrase! → turn
Examples from the Corpus
turn of phrase• His brilliant turns of phrase, his dark, brooding eyes tempted me.• It demands complicated puns, archaic semantic associations, and other comic turns of phrase.• It was his habitual turn of phrase.• He had a happy turn of phrase.• Kant was not noted for his turn of phrase-his style was usually a plodding one.• For most of us, however, these are all metaphors, turns of phrase.• He was a slow-talking Mississippian with a penchant for the rustic turn of phrase and a gift for storytelling.• Sorry, an unfortunate turn of phrase, but maybe not so inaccurate. 