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

"And spermine is, so to speak, the binding agent that brings the strands together. There are only weakly attractive electrical forces between the molecules, and these organise them but do not firmly bind them together."

From Science Daily

They couldn’t wait to brag about their, so to speak, “great grandfather.”

From Seattle Times

An ear for an ear, so to speak.

From Salon

The United States built the road to rapprochement, so to speak, but the Chinese cut the ribbon.

From Washington Post

Shooting them was about how their bodies and faces were reflecting light and honoring their performances was showing them in their "best light," so to speak.

From Salon