Advertisement

Advertisement

Turn the other cheek

  1. An adaptation of a command of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount : “Ye have heard that it hath been said, “ An eye for an eye , and a tooth for a tooth”; but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”


Discover More

Notes

To “turn the other cheek” is thus to accept injuries and not to seek revenge.
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Respond meekly or mildly to insult or injury without retaliating. For example, There's no point in arguing with that unreasonable supervisor; just turn the other cheek . This expression comes from the New Testament, in which Jesus tells his followers to love their enemies and offer their other cheek to those who have struck one cheek (Luke 6:29).

Advertisement

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


turn the cornerturn the scale