so to speak

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.

Example Sentences

"It changes the nature of the material, the 'magnetic DNA of the material', so to speak, its 'fingerprint'. It has practically become a different material with new properties for the time being," says Bossini.

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That’s been the main conflict, the narrative vein, so to speak, running through Rice’s work.

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It came entirely from inside the house, so to speak.

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Its time in the sun, so to speak, is now.

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It is an astonishing, so to speak, over-the-top score, which you either love or abhor for its instrumental vulgarity.

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