spokenUSE something said in a joking way when you use a very commonexpression, to show that you know it is used a lot 套句老话说,常言说得好
He’d thought the flight would never – to coin a phrase – get off the ground.
他以为这趟航班是永远也不会——套句老话说——离地起飞了。
Examples from the Corpus
to coin a phrase• He was going to have fun if it killed him, to coin a phrase.• I had to find out the hard way - to coin a phrase.• It is an oddsidelight, to coin a phrase, on road accidents.• Miller was trying to help his career and, to coin a phrase, snatchvictory from the jaws of defeat.