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Seagull Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Turn sth on its head

3-D printing will revolutionize war and foreign policy, say experts, not only by making possible incredible new designs but by turning the defense industry -- and possibly the entire global economy -- on its head.

In the above sentence, I don't quite understand the part "by turning the defense industry -- and possibly the entire global economy -- on its head" I don't think it's an idiom. Is it a kind of pun? Also, could you please rewrite it in a simpler terms?
  

Top answer

"Turning something on its head" here means that probably the defense industry, of the country being talked about, was not doing that well[or as well as the 'experts' believe it should] in some respects, and this 3-D printing, experts hope, turns that around[immediately & significantly]. So, simply put, "turning something on its head" means changing [something] immediately[and probably significantly]

— Karansardana

  • "Turning something on its head" here means that probably the defense industry, of the country being talked about, was not doing that well[or as well as the 'experts' believe it should] in some respects, and this 3-D printing, experts hope, turns that around[immediately & significantly].
  • So, simply put, "turning something on its head" means changing [something] immediately[and probably significantly]
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2 Answers
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"Turning something on its head" here means that probably the defense industry, of the country being talked about, was not doing that well[or as well as the 'experts' believe it should] in some respects, and this 3-D printing, experts hope, turns that around[immediately & significantly].

So, simply put, "turning something on its head" means changing [something] immediately[and probably sig
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I understand.
Thank you so much, Karansardana.
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