he has been everything by turns
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Vole is a deal at cards that draws the whole tricks. To vole is to win all the tricks.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “he has been everything by turns” mean?
Vole is a deal at cards that draws the whole tricks. To vole is to win all the tricks.
Is “he has been everything by turns” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.