Idiom idiom
out-paramour the Turk
Meaning
To have many romantic affairs.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He really likes to out-paramour the Turk.”
“Everyone in the village knows that he loves to out-paramour the Turk with his constant string of secret romances.”
“The scandalous nobleman seemed determined to out-paramour the Turk, leaving a trail of broken hearts across every capital in Europe.”
Origin
Uttered by the character Edgar in Shakespeare's King Lear (see quote). Likely a reference to one of various Ottoman Sultans (often referred to as the Grand Turk) famous for their large harems, or to the more general practice of polygyny associated with Islam.
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026