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table-turning

British  

noun

  1. the movement of a table attributed by spiritualists to the power of spirits working through a group of persons placing their hands or fingers on the table top

  2. derogatory spiritualism in general

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There’s one table-turning moment you see coming from a mile away, but the seriousness with which she pulls it off makes it enjoyable anyway.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2020

Biden and Sanders no doubt have their top people working on table-turning debate bon mots as we speak.

From Slate • Mar. 7, 2019

Men's Wearhouse clinched the table-turning US$1.8bn acquisition of its former suitor, Jos A. Bank, and Cerberus announced it was purchasing grocery operator Safeway in a deal involving about US$7.6bn of debt financing.

From Reuters • Mar. 14, 2014

And there's an arresting instance of table-turning when Stone delivers a long speech in British Sign Language without translation.

From The Guardian • Aug. 2, 2012

Soon afterward, “An epidemic of table-turning had broken out …” and the number of England’s Spiritualists and spirit publications grew.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

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