turn
To change, spoil, or work out a certain way.
Also called turn out, turn off cold.
Updated September 24, 2026
turn pronunciation
/TURN/
Meaning
In rural Southern talk, turn often means something shifts state. Weather turns cold. Milk turns sour in the fridge. A person turns mean after one beer too many. "Turn out" is the cousin that means how a thing ends up: it turned out fine, or it didn't. Farm kitchens and porch weather talk lean on this word hard.
How folks use it
- “Smell that milk before you pour it. I think it's turned.”
- “Sky's getting dark. Weather's fixin' to turn.”
Origin and etymology
English has long used turn for becoming a new state (leaves turn brown, weather turns cold). Southern and Southern Midland speech, noted in DARE, keeps a sharp everyday sense for food going bad ("the milk's turned") and for weather shifting. "Turn out" for how something results is older English that never left country talk.
Frequently asked questions
If milk has turned, what does that mean?
It has gone sour or spoiled. Don't drink it.