turn up for the book
turn up for the book noun: a very unexpected, usually pleasant, surprise.
Noun
turn up for the book (plural (rare) turn ups for the book)
- A very unexpected, usually pleasant, surprise.
- Her mother kept well away from us, which was a turn up for the book, and for the time being at any rate, I was a model husband.1987, Edward Dryhurst, Gilt Off the Gingerbread, →OCLC
- What a turn up for the book. After 12 successive league wins[…]Charlton were nobbled by the First Division's no-hopers, who profited from a goalkeeping bloomer then held on to their lead for dear life.2000 March 12, Stuart Barnes, “Swindon stunner for Curbishley”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Forms of turn up for the book
| alternative form | turn-up for the book |
|---|---|
| alternative form | turn up for the books |
| alternative form | turn-up for the books |
| plural (rare) | turn ups for the book |
Origin of turn up for the book
Originally from racecourse betting, from turn up (“stroke of luck”) and book (“record of betting; bookmaker”).
Words formed from turn up for the book
Questions about turn up for the book
- What does turn up for the book mean?
- Turn up for the book means a very unexpected, usually pleasant, surprise.
- What part of speech is turn up for the book?
- Turn up for the book is a noun.
Words near turn up for the book in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: turn up for the book (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-turn up for the book.ogg.
Cite this entry: “turn up for the book.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/turn_up_for_the_book. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.