about-face

See also: about face

English

Alternative forms

• about face

Etymology

From about +‎ face, first attested in 1861, used in the imperative in the military.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈbaʊtˌfeɪs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

about-face (plural about-faces)

1. (military) An abrupt turn to face the opposite direction.

   The soldier did an about-face and marched off.

   • 2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 22:11 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?‎^[1], archived from the original on 3 November 2022:

     Deciding that he hasn't had enough action for one day, Captain Evans of the Johnston orders another 180-degree about-face to give gunfire support to the new arrivals, this time picking on the heavy cruiser Tone.

2. (figurative) A reversal in direction; a reversal of attitude or opinion.

   When Luke heard the news, he did an abrupt about-face on the policy.

   • 2021 March 23, David Von Drehle, “Sidney Powell does an about-face on her Stop the Steal claims”, in Washington Post‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Sidney Powell does an about-face on her Stop the Steal claims [title]

   • 2021 July 8, Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang, quoting Mark Zuckerberg, “Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg’s Partnership Did Not Survive Trump”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN:

     In yet another about-face decision on speech, Mr. Zuckerberg announced that Facebook was planning to de-emphasize political content in the News Feed because, he said, “people don’t want politics and fighting to take over their experience on our service.”

   • 2023 July 15, “The ‘QAnon Shaman’ and other Capitol rioters who regret pleading guilty”, in BBC News‎^[4]:

     His about-face is such that he is even taking his case back to court to ask his guilty plea to be reversed. And he is far from the alone in changing his mind about the events at the Capitol.

Translations

military: abrupt turn to face the opposite direction

• Dutch: rechtsomkeert (nl)
• Finnish: täyskäännös (fi)
• French: (literal) demi-tour (fr) m; (figurative) volte-face (fr) f, revirement (fr) m
• Hungarian: hátra arc
• Italian: dietro front m, dietrofront m
• Polish: o 180 stopni, w tył zwrot
• Portuguese: meia-volta f
• Russian: круго́м (ru) (krugóm)
• Spanish: media vuelta f, cambio de rumbo m
• Thai: กลับหลังหัน (th) (glàp-lǎng-hǎn)

reversal of direction or attitude

• Dutch: koerswijziging (nl) m, ommezwaai (nl) m
• Finnish: täyskäännös (fi)
• German: Kehrtwende (de) f
• Hungarian: hátraarc (hu), pálfordulás (hu), pálfordulat, száznyolcvan fokos fordulat
• Italian: voltafaccia (it) m, voltagabbana (it) m, banderuola (it) f
• Spanish: media vuelta f, virazón, cambio de rumbo m

Verb

about-face (third-person singular simple present about-faces, present participle about-facing, simple past and past participle about-faced)

1. (intransitive) To turn 180 degrees to face the opposite direction.

   The soldiers would about-face immediately after the order was given.

2. To change opinion or attitude drastically.

   A politician will about-face at the drop of a hat if he thinks there are votes in it.

Translations

to turn 180 degrees

• Dutch: rechtsomkeert maken
• Finnish: tehdä täyskäännös
• French: faire demi-tour (fr),
• German: Kehrtwende machen
• Italian: fare dietrofront
• Spanish: dar la media vuelta, darse media vuelta
• Thai: กลับหลังหัน (th) (glàp-lǎng-hǎn)

to change opinion or attitude

• Dutch: een totale ommekeer uitvoeren, het roer omgooien, zijn standpunt totaal wijzigen
• Finnish: tehdä täyskäännös
• French: faire volte-face (fr)
• Italian: fare il voltafaccia, fare il voltagabbana, cambiare casacca
• Spanish: cambiar de rumbo

See also

• about turn (UK)
• arse about face
• backpedal
• heel/face turn
• turnabout
• turn around
• volte-face
• 180