Turn the Tables 1100 Words
Turn the Tables 1100 Words
to completely change a situation in a way that you manage to enjoy some benefits and others would face a disadvantage, to bring about a reversal of the relative conditions or fortunes of two contending parties, change the course of actions to your own benefit, get even, retaliate, even the score, get back at, fight back
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, if you “turn the tables” on someone, it is generally understood that you have reversed the fortunes in your favor to some capacity, so as to “reverse one’s position relative to someone else, especially by turning a position of disadvantage into one of advantage.” Useful saying, especially for motivational halftime speeches at sporting events, but where does it come from?
Believe it or not, from board games!
Backgammon and similar games belong to a class of board games referred to as “tables,” a general name given to games played on a board with dice. If the game wasn’t going in your favor, you would have to “turn” them, figuratively, if you wanted to win. You can’t actually “turn the tables” in a game of backgammon, although that would be nice. The phrase is a metaphor, a substitute for the common idea of a “comeback,” because you would have to reverse the board/the players’ current positions/situations in order to change the outcome.
Source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/
Antonym: surrender, capitulate, give in
Farsi: اوضاع را به نفع خود برگرداندن
