Anibal Jose Baez
Nov 07, 2015 4:37 PM<<According 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.
While not as directly relevant to the meaning of the phrase in today�s language, there�s also a hint of this phrase, at least in terms of the words themselves, found amongst old-school dinner party procedures. To prevent anyone from being excluded from conversation, the host would choose a direction (typically the right) and speak with the person to that side of him/her. Everyone else was to follow suit, until the host �turned the tables� halfway through the meal, at which point everyone then switched their focus to the person on the opposite side.>>
http://mentalfloss.com/article/53009/where-does-phrase-%E2%80%9C-turn-tables%E2%80%9D-come
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Last Updated: Nov 07, 2015 4:37 PM
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