if you
turn the
tables on someone, you
change the
situation completely, so that instead of them causing problems for you, you are causing problems for them.
to reverse the existing
situation,
conditions or relations between two groups (or persons), often to gain the upper
hand. The
origin of this
term is uncertain, however, in one
account it is
thought to have originated in the 1500s from the
board game backgammon, priorly known as "
tables." The rules of the
game are
complex; however, under certain circumstances in the
game a player can double the stakes and a dramatic reversal of fortune can occur thus placing the good fortune of one player onto the opponent. In another
account it is said to have come from the practice of reversing the table or
board in any
board game and thereby
switching the opponent's
position.
(informal) change a
situation so that one
gains a
position of advantage (over one's opponent or
enemy) after being at a disadvantage. From two players in certain games played by moving pieces round on a specially
marked board. If the player who is losing turns the
board (table) round to his side, he would then have the winning pieces instead of his own.