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Done to a turn

Posted by Nancy K on August 22, 2002

In Reply to: Done to a turn posted by R. Berg on August 22, 2002

: : : : I am trying to find the origin of the phrase "done to a turn" Any ideas?

: : : : Thanks

: : : A guess -- meat cooked on a rotating spit?

: : This may have been used in colonial times by Pilgrims using a reflector oven....not sure

: The Oxford English Dictionary says "orig. in reference to the turns of the spit." It has two quotations to illustrate "done to a turn"; they're dated 1780 and 1864. That would be too late for the Pilgrims (and I hadn't known they had reflector ovens).

This would have been probably the 1700's. The historic house I work in has three time periods.

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