turn back the clock

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

turn back the clock (third-person singular simple present turns back the clock, present participle turning back the clock, simple past and past participle turned back the clock)

1. (figuratively, idiomatic) To return to a previous state.

   We had a terrible year so we agreed to turn back the clock and go on as if it hadn't happened.

Alternative forms

• turn the clocks back

Translations

return to a previous state

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 開倒車／开倒车 (hoi¹ dou³ ce¹)

  Hokkien: 開倒車／开倒车 (khui-tó-chhia)

  Mandarin: 開倒車／开倒车 (zh) (kāidàochē), 讓時光倒流／让时光倒流 (ràng shíguāng dàoliú)

• Faroese: venda tímanum aftur
• Finnish: unohtaa menneet
• French: remonter le temps (fr)
• Italian: tornare indietro nel tempo
• Portuguese: voltar no tempo
• Spanish: volver el tiempo atrás

See also

• go back in time

Anagrams

• turn the clock back