do an about-face

Idioms  

1. Also,. 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).

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

do an about-face

This is after Mr. Hogan first announced to fanfare that the new bridge under construction would have bicycle and pedestrian facilities, only to do an about-face when construction was set to begin.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2022

It made new calculations based on the response to the decision by Tesla and Musk to do an about-face, and settled on a strike price of $484.35.

From The Verge ● Nov. 15, 2021

The CDC’s findings and surging case counts across the country were enough for the agency to do an about-face on masking.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 30, 2021

Monday’s debut of “Untouchable” on Hulu has nothing to do with the surge of groaning over #MeToo, and honestly, people like Chappelle are never going to do an about-face on punching down at the vulnerable.

From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2019

“No president is going to do an about-face on a major policy because of 20,000 signatures,” he wrote.

From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2016