flip the script
Upend the narrative
To flip the script is to reverse an expected dynamic or narrative—turning the tables on someone or upending conventional roles.
Originally from hip-hop and entertainment, where it meant subverting a storyline or sampling technique, the phrase now applies broadly to any situation where someone changes the usual power balance or contradicts expectations: She flipped the script on her critics by making their attacks the centerpiece of her campaign.
- cross upConfuse or deceive
- turn the tablesGain upper hand suddenly
- reframingChanging interpretive context
- plot twistSudden narrative redirection
- unexpected twistUnforeseen narrative reversal
change the narrative · counterculture · reversal · come from behind · paradigm shift · revolution · game-changer · empowerment · pivot · disruption · shake things up · recalibration · innovation · adaptation · irony · maneuvering · improvisation · screenplay
- changechange, flux, transformation, metamorphosis, alteration
- reversalsreverse, undo, revert, overturn, invert
- turn phrasesabout face, turn the tables, turn a blind eye, turn over a new leaf, turn the corner
flip the scriptstay the course
Continue despite difficulties
stay on track · play it straight · hold steady · business as usual · toe the line
flip the scriptplay by the rules
Follow accepted procedures
conform · play along · go along to get along · know your place · fall in line
flip, flips, flipped, flipping, flipper, script, scripts, scripted, scripting