change the subject

1. Deliberately talk about another topic, as in If someone asks you an embarrassing question, just change the subject. This term uses subject in the sense of “a topic of conversation,” a usage dating from the late 1500s.

Example Sentences

I glance around, eager to change the subject.

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Penelope was determined to change the subject away from evil bears and dangerous muskets.

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“I am sure the children will be delighted. And speaking of Mr. Clarke,” she went on, seizing the chance to change the subject, “based on your experience, is there some way to find out for certain if my acquaintance Mr. Harley-Dickinson is in police custody, and if he is, how to ‘spring him,’ as it were?”

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He hated lying, especially to his mother, but he knew this was the quickest way to change the subject.

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Instead of fixing the economy he’s hurting, he’s picking political fights to change the subject.

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