twist around

twist around

1. To rotate from side to side. I kept twisting around trying to see where the noise had come from, but I couldn't see anything.
2. To rotate something in a circular motion. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "twist" and "around." The owl is able to twist its head around 180 degrees.
3. To squirm, writhe, or wriggle around. The worm twisted around in my hand. I was trying to get my daughter dressed for school, but she kept twisting around the whole time.
4. To move or progress in a winding, meandering course around or throughout something. I hate the way these roads twist around the mountain like this. It always makes me carsick having to drive through them. The stream twists around the forest before eventually merging with the Colorado River further down the valley.
5. To encircle, wrap, or coil around someone or something. Black smoke twisted around the tower as the fire spread through its lower levels. The huge anaconda twisted around Tom, squeezing the life out of him.
6. To wrap or coil something around someone or something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "twist" and "around." He twisted the cable around his arm and pulled as hard as he could. The plant twists its vines around the branches of the tallest trees to reach the sunshine above the canopy of the jungle. She twisted the rope around the hostage, making sure that the man couldn't move.
7. To alter, distort, or misrepresent the intended meaning of something. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "twist" and "around." No, that's not what I meant—stop twisting my words around! You can't just twist around the author's words to fit the agenda of your essay.
See also: around, twist
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

twist something around someone or something

to wrap something around someone or something. Max twisted the wire around Lefty, and totally immobilized him. I twisted the rope around the post and tied a knot.
See also: around, twist

twist around

to turn around part way at the waist, without moving one's feet or legs. Nancy twisted around to get a better look at who was sitting behind her. I had to twist around to see who was there.
See also: around, twist
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • the far side
  • wave at
  • wave at (someone or something)
  • wave to (someone or something)
  • come down on the side of (someone or something)
  • come down/out on the side of somebody/something
  • take (one's) side
  • bob and weave
  • weave
  • come out on the side of (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
The bench faces away from the images, obliging viewers, with their live bodies set against the background of the dead, to twist around and physically "perform" the act of looking, thus completing the installation from other gallery visitors' point of view.
Speaking volumes: Rachel Withers on the art of Susan Hiller
A very simple way to achieve sleek and defined curls on curly hair is to take large sections of wet hair and twist around your finger as if putting ringlets in and allow to dry naturally.
Hair we go
"This affects their larger body motions, such as the ease with which they can get in and out of a car; their ability to bend over to adjust the seat controls and load the trunk of the car; and their ability to twist around to see over their shoulders when parking or changing lanes."
New wheels for grandma: engineers are adding enabling technologies that make cars easier and safer for an aging population to drive. (Feature Focus: Ergonomic Engineering)
Measures to protect drivers' backs include adjusting mirrors to minimise having to twist around in seats, properly adjusting backrests, and being careful about lifting heavy objects from inside cars and from boots.
The bad habits that lead to bad backs
These include adjusting mirrors to minimise having to twist around in seats, properly adjusting back rests, and being careful about lifting heavy objects from inside cars and from boots.
Legacy of hours behind the wheel could be a sore back
You can be sex on legs in sandals that twist around the ankle, come trimmed with beads, feathers and sequins.
Shop Style: TINY temptations; Here are some irresistible little purchases you can buy for yourself when shopping for others, says Carole Ann Rice
Employing such materials as papier-mache camouflage netting and plastic pipes (to carry water for the "rain" and a waterfall), students morphed the classroom into "a warm, tropical jungle, where colorful silk flowers, rubber frogs and plastic bats hang from a lush canopy of greenery, and nylon stockings twist around tree trunks as if they really were thick vines," The Seattle Times reports.
It's a jungle in there
Similarly, Rise suspends its two protagonists in harnesses as they twist around a sort of maypole--upside down the whole time and manipulated by a crew at the pulleys.
Elizabeth Streb/Ringside
A poll of 1,000 youngsters revealed that children reckon that mum is easier to twist around their little finger than dad.
Dad's no pushover, mum is: Brit kids
Grapevines use tendrils that twist around any small diameter support.
Your gardening answers
So, mathematicians sought an airtight proof that the infinite surface doesn't somehow, somewhere, twist around enough to intersect itself.
Surface story: inspired by spiral soap films, mathematicians zero in on a novel, economical, and infinite helix
The firm has paid out damages to six gas service engineers who were required to twist around in the seats of their vans to use the portable computers which were on the passenger seat.
New twist to old problem
'Horstmann's Silberlocke') with silver-backed needles that curve up and twist around the stem; and 'Aurea,' a slow-growing, golden-yellow 4-footer.
Trees worth a second look
Styling tip: `For genuine beach hair apply a walnut-sized blob of wax to wet hair and twist around the fingers leaving to set as it dries,' says celebrity stylist Lee Stafford.
M says...Make your hair supernatural; This season's hottest hair looks are all about making the most of what Mother Nature gave you. Easy, eh? The key - whether your barnet's straight, wavy or curly - is to take advantage of its natural texture and make sure it's in the best possible condition. Here's how to keep it real
They twist around to stare at some unseen object, perhaps hidden behind one of the trees.
SHARON YA'ARI