so to speak

Idioms  

1. Phrased like this, in a manner of speaking, as in He was, so to speak, the head of the family, although he was only related by marriage to most of the family members. This term originally meant “in the vernacular” or “lower-class language” and was used as an aristocrat's apology for stooping to such use. [Early 1800s] Also see as it were.

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Example Sentences

"I do believe there is a place to never want to kill the joy, so to speak," said McCullum.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026

“But Ramón always finds a way to ‘put the vitamins in the ice cream,’ so to speak.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

Some are already beating the drum, so to speak.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

The catch, so to speak, is that the boats must travel much farther north—to fisheries 220 miles above the Aleutian Islands, the crabbers’ old hunting grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

I was munching my way, so to speak, through Granddaddy’s volumes of Dickens with great satisfaction and had made it all the way to Oliver Twist.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly