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Wangqh2696122 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Turning one's back to or turning one's back on

The following is from our textbook. But I can't find the phrase turning one's back to. Instead, I can find turning one's back on in my dictionary. Is our textbook wrong?

From the time we are babies, we show unhappiness or anger by frowning. In most places around the world, frowning and turning one's back to someone shows anger. Making a fist and shaking it almost always means that someone is angry and threatening another person.

  

Top answer

turn your back on someone has the metaphorical meaning of rejecting someone , or neglecting them at a time when they need your help. ( intransitive , idiomatic ) To cease paying attention to something. As soon as I turned my back , he started writing on the wall.

— SsnowFlake

  • turn your back on someone has the metaphorical meaning of rejecting someone , or neglecting them at a time when they need your help.
  • ( intransitive , idiomatic ) To cease paying attention to something.
  • As soon as I turned my back , he started writing on the wall.
  • ( intransitive , idiomatic , with "on") To forsake , to abandon ; to ignore .
  • He got off to a strong start, only to turn his back on the project two months later.
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4 Answers
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turn your back on someone has the metaphorical meaning of rejecting someone, or neglecting them at a time when they need your help.




  1. (intransitive,
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Does the sentence make sense? Is it correctly used?
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wangqh2696122The following is from our textbook. But I can't find the phrase turning one's back to. Instead, I can find turning one's back on in my dictionary. Is our textbook wrong?
No. The textbook is correct. These are two different expressions.

turn one's back to is literal. You turn so that you are not face-to-face with the other
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