Turn to good account
Use for one’s benefit, as in He turned the delay to good account, using the time to finish correspondence. This idiom, first recorded in 1878, uses account in the sense of “a reckoning.”
Read Also:
- Turnup
noun 1. something that is turned up or that turns up. 2. upturn (def 6). 3. British. a cuff on a pair of trousers. 4. Chiefly British. fight; row; disturbance. adjective 5. that is or may be turned up.
- Turn up like a bad penny
see: turn up , def. 3.
- Turn upside down
Put in disorder, mix or mess up, as in He turned the whole house upside down looking for his checkbook. This metaphoric phrase transfers literally inverting something so that the upper part becomes the lower (or vice versa) to throwing into disorder or confusion. [ First half of 1800s ]
- Turn up the heat on
Also, put the heat or screws or squeeze on; tighten the screws on. Pressure someone, as in The cops turned up the heat on drivers who show signs of drunkenness, or They said they’d tighten the screws on her if she didn’t confess. All of these slangy terms allude to forms of physical coercion or […]
- Turn up trumps
End well, succeed, as in Some brief courtships and hasty marriages turn up trumps. This expression alludes to card games in which trump cards are superior to cards of other suits. [ Late 1700s ]