English has many idiomatic expressions that native speakers use without thinking about it.
Although overuse of any idiom is frustrating, misusing these phrases can be really cringey, so it’s important to have a thorough understanding of them.
One phrase with a long history and a complicated set of meanings is “turn the other cheek.”
What is the meaning of “turn the other cheek”
The meaning of “turn the other cheek” is derived from Jesus Christ’s “Sermon on the Mount,” advocating nonviolence. Today, it’s commonly understood as if threatened with violence, respond peacefully, and walk away. Some see deeper implications, like challenging oppression, but the peaceful interpretation prevails.
“Turn the other cheek” in more detail
In modern use, the expression “turn the other cheek” almost always means to avoid responding to violence with violence.
Of course, it can also be used to refer to non-physical violence like arguing or aggressive posturing.
As seen from the description above, this meaning of the expression comes directly from the teachings Jesus gave to his disciples in his sermon.
Since it’s held up as the opposite of taking “an eye for an eye” in revenge, it stands to reason that “turn the other cheek” would mean “don’t get revenge.”
From revenge, it’s easy to see how this expression came to mean, “don’t take any kind of violent action, even if someone attacks you.”
So in a sense, you could say that “turn the other cheek” is like the antonym of the expression “Turnabout is fair play.”
How to use “turn the other cheek” in a sentence
The meaning of “turn the other cheek” should now be clear. How do you use it in everyday speech?
The original text of the Sermon on the Mount gives us a good idea, even though it’s a bit archaic.
Jesus says if someone “slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek to him as well.”
In practice, this is shortened to just “turn the other cheek.” Otherwise, the usage is the same.
Simply place this expression after a bit of violence somebody is proposing. You can also put it anywhere else a verb phrase would fit in a sentence, such as after “I want you to.”
Finally, the expression can be used as a complete sentence on its own as a general reminder to somebody not to use violence, no matter how tempting it might be.
Examples
This example adds another expression to the mix. It could mean not getting mad when something bad happens but turning away from anger and finding the good side of things.
Here, someone gives a driver good advice to avert an incident of road rage.
“Mom, lots of kids at my school get into fights.”
“If they ever try to mess with you, promise me you’ll turn the other cheek.”
Finally, an example of a mother giving her child a warning not to get into fights.
All these examples show people using “turn the other cheek” to mean not engaging in violence or revenge.
An alternative meaning for “turn the other cheek”
One other interesting interpretation of “turn the other cheek” is that of Walter Wink, a Biblical scholar and progressive activist.
Wink argues that, in Jesus’s times, this phrase actually invited his disciples to engage in nonviolent resistance to authority.
Because being struck in the left cheek would have required someone to use the left hand, which was considered unclean, it would have required the attacker to themselves commit a kind of crime.
Likewise, Jesus’s other examples sound like compassion to us, but in the ancient Roman province of Galilee, where Jesus preached, they too would have resulted in the attacker committing a crime.
Seeing someone naked brought shame to the viewer while forcing someone to walk more than a mile was a crime under Roman law.
Although Wink’s argument is fascinating and sounds believable, this meaning of “turn the other cheek” isn’t really used today.
The origin of “turn the other cheek”
Many idioms have no clear origin. This one, however, comes from The Sermon on the Mount, a collection of sayings attributed to Jesus Christ that contains a number of expressions still used today.
“In this sermon, found in chapter 5 of Matthew, Jesus shares his teachings with his disciples. He instructs them on how to worship God properly and how to behave as good people.”
One of the expressions Jesus mentions is “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” used to justify revenge against someone who has harmed you.
Jesus, in contrast, says not to “oppose an evil one” but that if someone “slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek to him as well.”
He provides more examples, too, including giving your coat to someone who has sued for your shirt and walking two miles with someone who forces you to walk one mile.
Just in case the message is not clear, this section ends by spelling out the lesson. “Give to whoever asks you and lend to whoever wants to borrow from you — don’t turn them away.”
Out of all the examples in the sermon, it’s “turn the other cheek” that has stuck around in the popular imagination in English.
Usage of the expression dates at least as far back as 1800, according to Google’s NGram viewer, although it drastically increased starting in the mid-1980s.
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