to make one sing another tune
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To make him change his behaviour altogether; make him recant what he has said.
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 “to make one sing another tune” mean?
To make him change his behaviour altogether; make him recant what he has said.
Is “to make one sing another tune” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.