turn the tables | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic)Toreverseasituation, so that theadvantagehasshiftedto the party which was previouslydisadvantaged.1822, [Walter Scott], chapter I, inPeveril of the Peak.[…], volume II, Edinburgh:[…]Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co.,→OCLC,page21:Well, thetables are turned—the times are changed. A peaceful and unoffending man might have expected from a neighbour, now powerful in his turn, such protection when walking in the paths of the law, as all men, subjects of the realm, have a right to expect even from perfect strangers.1884,Horatio Alger, chapter 30, inDo and Dare:"Thetables are turned, my red friend!" said the hunter, coolly. "It's your life, not mine, this time!"2011December 21, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, inthe Guardian‎[1]:Since its conception, the European Union has been a haven for those seeking refuge from war, persecution and poverty in other parts of the world. But as the EU faces what Angela Merkel has called its toughest hour since the second world war,the tables appear to be turning.2017August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, inThe Onion AV Club‎[2]:The execution of Littlefinger is formal, although his trial admittedly gives us ample opportunity to appreciatethe tables finally turningon the man who got the ball rolling on all this bloodshed.2025May 14,Kashmir Hill, “College Professors Are Using ChatGPT. Some Students Aren’t Happy.”, inThe New York Times‎[3],→ISSN:But, oh, howthe tables have turned. Now students are complaining on sites like Rate My Professors about their instructors’ overreliance on A.I. and scrutinizing course materials for words ChatGPT tends to overuse, like “crucial” and “delve.”

Examples:

EN: What if they should turn the tables on you, sir?
ES: - ¿Y si se vuelven contra usted, señor?
EN: Leave it to a woman To turn the tables.
ES: Deja que una mujer cambie las tornas.
EN: Now, if we only had some guns, we could take off after the blighters and turn the tables on 'em.
ES: Ahora, si tuviéramos algunas armas... podríamos ir atrás de los tipos y darle vuelta las mesas.
EN: We'll turn the tables on them, see.
ES: Vamos a devolver la pelota a ellos, vemos.
EN: It's no use for you to turn the tables, Mom!
ES: - ¡No me venga con disimulos, madre!
EN: Dude, don't turn the tables.
ES: Amigo, no le de la vuelta a la tortilla.
EN: Why turn the tables on me?
ES: ¡¿Por qué tergiversa las cartas en mesa? ! - ¿Pero cómo...
EN: And don't try and turn the tables on me.
ES: Y no intente cambiarme las tablas.
EN: If it works, we may be able to turn the tables on Tegana.
ES: Si funciona, viraremos las tornas hacia Tegana.
EN: Yeah, we'll turn the tables on them.
ES: Si. Invertiremos los papeles.
EN: But this time we'll turn the tables on her.
ES: Pero esta vez le daremos vuelta la mesa.
EN: And I want you to set her up someplace where she don't turn the tables on us again... and make us look like damn fools.
ES: Eso quiero. Quiero que la veas donde no nos vuelva las tornas... y nos haga quedar en ridículo.
EN: Or, after three more centuries, turn the tables on their owners?
ES: ¿O, después de tres siglos, darle la vuelta a la tortilla?
EN: I have to turn the tables and attack them one by one. I can do it.
ES: Debo enfrentarme a ellos por separado.
EN: Just turn the tables on him.
ES: Cambia los papeles.

Note: the examples for non latin scripts have a high likelihood of mistakes, we do not own any of this data and it is sourced from Wiktionary, the NLLB database and Opensubtitles. Please help us improve this by contributing correct examples. We will be working to fix this issue over time however it is a bigger issue due to the the difficulties in dealing with non latin scripts and grammatical structures(non-romantic/european languages have lower resources as well ).