Phrasal Verb Fun

turn about, turn around, turn round
These all mean the same. A big ship is very difficult to turn
about
. And a
big company is also very difficult. You will often see this expression in the
business press.
Hoo Boy Co. was losing money every year for ten years, until the new
boss, Henry Makit, turned the company round.
Separable two-word verbs
. Be careful.
turn against
Stephanie liked her local restaurant very much but she turned against it
when she
found out
that the health department had discovered
cockroaches in the kitchen. She never went there again.

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Against
always has the idea of 'confrontation'
When Pascual was a student, he was an ardent radical. Later in life, he
turned against all his old beliefs. His friends accused him of
selling out.
To turn against a person or an idea means to reject them, after first
accepting them.
Inseparable two-word verb
No problem.
turn away
When you turn somebody
away
from your door, you do not let them in
your house. You do not feed them, or entertain them. By extension, foolish
people have been known to turn away opportunity when it arrives.
Separable two-word verb
. Be careful.
turn down
Harry proposed to Harriet, but she turned him down.
(So he won't get married to her.)
A long, long time ago the Romans used to entertain themselves with
watching fights to the death in the circuses. Traditionally, when a gladiator
had won, he appealed to the crowd. The crowd would then decide
whether to kill the defeated one or not by signalling with their thumbs. If
they turned their thumbs
down
, he was killed.
To turn something down is to reject it.
When we turn the music down, we make it less loud. We make it quieter.
Compare this with
turn on, turn off
.
Separable two-word verb
. Be careful.