turn the clock back, to
turn back the clock
1. Literally, to set the clock to an earlier time. Can you turn back the clock? It's five minutes fast.
2. To revisit, recount, or recreate a time or era from the past. If I could turn back the clock, I would manage my finances better so I could retire at an earlier age. The purpose of this conference is to turn back the clock by analyzing early human remains to gain insight into their way of life.
See also: back, clock, turn
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
turn back the clock
and turn the clock backSee also: back, clock, turn
turn the clock back
and turn back the clock1. Lit. to set a clock to an earlier time. I have to turn the clocks back each fall. Please turn back the clock.
2. Fig. to try to return to the past. You are not facing up to the future. You are trying to turn the clock back to a time when you were more comfortable. Let us turn back the clock and pretend we are living at the turn of the century—the time that our story takes place.
See also: back, clock, turn
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
turn the clock back
orturn back the clock
COMMON If you would like to turn the clock back or to turn back the clock, you would like to return to an earlier period, usually because you would like the chance to change something that you did in the past. I'd like to turn the clock back and do things differently, but I can't. If I could turn back the clock, I might not have said that. Note: You can use the verb put instead of turn. No amount of money — not even millions like this — can put back the clock and change what happened.
See also: back, clock, turn
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
turn back the clock
return to the past or to a previous way of doing things.See also: back, clock, turn
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
turn the clock back, to
To return to an earlier way of life; to restore past conditions. This metaphor dates from the nineteenth century and generally represents a vain attempt to return to a past era. “You can’t turn back the hands of the clock,” wrote Erle Stanley Gardner (The Case of the Turning Tide, 1941).
See also: clock, turn
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- turn back the clock
- turn the/(one's) clock(s) forward
- set the/(one's) clock(s) forward
- turn the clock back
- turn the/(one's) clock(s) back
- set the/(one's) clock(s) back
- put the/(one's) clock(s) forward
- move the/(one's) clock(s) forward
- put the/(one's) clock(s) back
- put/turn the clock back