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

"Before, it was unimaginable. Now, we've invented a new field, so to speak."

From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026

What’s Next: The company will offer teenagers an incentive to do their investing homework, so to speak.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

The first shot, so to speak, came in Anthropic’s conflict with the Pentagon after the company refused to have its technology used for fully autonomous killer drone storms and the mass surveillance of Americans.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

“I remain hopeful that President Trump won’t quite pull the trigger, so to speak, and that a last-minute deal—which he is clearly vying for—is reached,” StoneX’s Matt Simpson says in commentary.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

By now she understood that the mood in the nursery had begun to curdle, so to speak, and that the cause had something to do with her shutting of the windows.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood