turn the scale
To decide or determine a balanced situation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“His final goal helped turn the scale for our team.”
“The candidate's strong performance in the final debate helped turn the scale in her favor just before the election.”
“Although the committee remained deeply divided for hours, the chairperson's unexpected endorsement finally served to turn the scale toward a unanimous decision.”
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Buggins's turn
A humorous, disparaging term for the appointment of a person by rotation or promotion, on the basis of length of service (it being that person's "turn") rather than merit or level of qualification.
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everything one touches turns to gold
Everything someone uses or does succeeds or becomes better.
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everything one touches turns to shit
Everything someone uses or does fails or becomes worse.
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good turn
A good deed; a thoughtful or selfless act.
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left turn
An unexpected change from the way things seemed to be going.
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off the scale
Far in excess of what is normal or measurable.
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poacher turned gamekeeper
A person now charged with protecting what they formerly preyed upon.
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returns to scale
a function describing how returns scale when production increases in the long run
Last updated August 10, 2026