do an about-face

do an about-face

To suddenly and completely turn or change one's direction. This phrase can describe one's physical movement or a change in concept. She did an about-face and walked back up the steps once she saw that the subway wasn't running. Based on the reactions we got from test audiences, we need to do an about-face with the movie's plot.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

do an about-face

Also, do a flip-flop or one-eighty . Reverse one's opinion or course of action. For example, The board did an about-face on acquiring more land, or We expected Dad to do a flip-flop concerning our vacation plans, or They had relied on Jim to vote for Harry, but he did a one-eighty and cast his vote for the incumbent . The first term, alluding to the army command to turn around, dates from the first half of the 1900s, and the variants from the second half of the 1900s (the last refers to a 180-degree change of direction).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • about-face
  • an about-face
  • a change of scenery
  • change of scenery
  • scenery
  • change of scene
  • change of scene, a
  • a change of scene
  • change mind
  • change your mind
References in periodicals archive
The desire to define the new you is the reason why so many empty-nesters and the like decide to do an about-face and head for sleek and contemporary interiors that normally would be perfect for young homeowners.
You may be asking yourself why, after many years of accumulation, so many people decide to do an about-face from the warmth of traditional interiors to lighter contemporary interiors.
Mature pads tend to be contemporary in nature
When interest or economic wealth in one country wants, brand manufacturers must be prepared to do an about-face and shift to another more profitable region or product line.
About face
That is why O'Neill produced profound shock less than two weeks later, when he appeared to do an about-face after a private meeting with Fannie Mae Chairman and CEO Franklin Raines by expressing full support for GSE subsidies.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THEN SOME ..
Yet if the reports about Heche and Cypher are correct, they are hardly the only women who seem to do an about-face when ending a lesbian relationship.
Losing that loving feeling
Needless to say, a decade later I was skeptical when told that the Corps is ready to do an about-face, shed the epithet "dam builders," and lead the charge to save the environment.
The greening of the Corps