to twist it on one
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Slang for to swindle one or to bamboozle him to one's own advantage. Also (with allusion to giving the screw another twist), to extract from a person all one can— • and a bit over.
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 twist it on one” mean?
Slang for to swindle one or to bamboozle him to one's own advantage. Also (with allusion to giving the screw another twist), to extract from a person all one can— • and a bit over.
Is “to twist it on one” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.