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Glite Dictionary
to a turn

to a turn

1 7.7
Exactly the right amount or degree needed
  • idiom
translation icon : a la perfección
  • Her pancakes were fluffy and perfectly golden, cooked to a turn on both sides.
  • done to a turn

Examples

  • Done to a turn.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • Those tasty little link sausages are done to a turn.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The servers glided in and out with dishes done to a turn.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Modesty restored, she too focused on the fire and concentrated on roasting her share of dinner to a turn.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • But when this play, like others of its kind, is done to a turn and served up as it should be, who is to say that the bloody cruelty and madness of it is not a just and lively limping of the cruelty and madness of the world?

    Fiction book (1990)

  • The roast chicken was cooked to a turn, crispy on the outside and tender inside.

  • The chef prides himself on making sure the steak is grilled to a turn every time.

Synonyms

exactly
vsto a turn
∞ 1.0

In a completely correct way

stresses meeting the needed ideal amount rather than general accuracy
precisely
vsto a turn
124 3.7

Do something in an exact and careful way

focuses on achieving the ideal amount rather than measurement alone
to the letter
vsto a turn
  • Formal
23 4.4

Act exactly as told, without changing any detail

is used for the ideal amount, not only for instruction following
to perfection
vsto a turn
19 3.5

In a way that is done very well in every detail

means doing something to the ideal degree rather than flawless result
to a T
vsto a turn
  • Informal
10 7.6

In a way that is exact in every detail

is about doing something to the ideal degree needed
to a hair
vsto a turn
  • Informal
8.6

Exactly the same in every small detail

is about ideal degree rather than tiny measurement focus

Antonyms

inadequately
8 4.4

In a way that is not good enough

imperfectly
5 3.7

In a way that is not perfect

How Exact

to a turn
1 7.7
exactly
∞ 1.0
about
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

to a turn positive

Morphology

to + a + turn

The sense 'exactly, perfectly' is not recoverable from the literal meanings of 'to', 'a', and 'turn' (where 'turn' is given as an occasion to act) and the phrase does not follow a predictable compositional pattern. This is an idiomatic/archaic adverbial use that a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would be unlikely to infer, so it should be treated as opaque.

Etymology

The phrase to a turn may come from old cooking, where a cook would turn meat over the fire and stop at the exact turn when it was perfectly done. So, to a turn means 'exactly' or 'perfectly'.