Idiom
turn one's coat
Meaning
To turn against a previous affiliation or allegiance.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He turned his coat and joined the rival political party.”
“You turn your coat when you betray your friends for a better offer.”
“After years of supporting the company, the manager turned his coat to work for their biggest competitor.”
“The lead developer turned her coat during the lawsuit, testifying against her own team to protect her career.”
“Soldiers who turn their coat during a war often face harsh punishment if their original army catches them.”
“The senator was accused of turning his coat when he abandoned his long-held principles to secure a position in the new administration.”
Examples
simple
“He turned his coat and joined the rival political party.”
“You turn your coat when you betray your friends for a better offer.”
contextual
“After years of supporting the company, the manager turned his coat to work for their biggest competitor.”
“The lead developer turned her coat during the lawsuit, testifying against her own team to protect her career.”
“Soldiers who turn their coat during a war often face harsh punishment if their original army catches them.”
complex
“The senator was accused of turning his coat when he abandoned his long-held principles to secure a position in the new administration.”
Origin
The expression derives from the military necessity of reversing one's uniform coat to conceal the colours that identified one's faction. By turning the garment inside out, a soldier could effectively mask his previous allegiance and adopt a more convenient neutrality or a new loyalty entirely. The physical act of inversion served as a practical, if somewhat obvious, method of political or tactical repositioning.
Key words
Related idioms
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