“The worm has turned” suggests a reversal of fortune, particularly the kind of situation in which a meek person begins behaving more confidently or starts defending himself. In other words, even the lowliest of creatures will still strike back if sufficiently provoked, an idea Shakespeare used in Henry VI, Part 3, where Lord Clifford observes, “The smallest worm will turn being trodden on, and doves will peck in safeguard of their brood.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “The Worm Has Turned”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, my name’s Sarah.
I live right near Appleton, Wisconsin.
Okay, cool.
Are there lots of apples there?
I’ve always wondered about Appleton.
Oh, gosh, no.
Oh, too bad.
Really?
No, there’s a lot of cows and just like anywhere else in Wisconsin.
But yeah, it’s a beautiful place to live.
Okay, good.
Yeah.
All right.
So what is up?
What is on your mind?
Well, a while ago I was listening to one of your shows and you were talking, somebody was asking about weird and unique things that family members say.
Kind of, I guess, I guess wondering along the lines of, are they normal things to say or did just that one person make it up?
Right.
And my uncle had always some unusual things that he would say.
And so I was wondering along those lines, if it’s something that he just said himself or if it was a thing.
Oh, what is it?
Well, one of the things he would just kind of blurt out at random intervals, he would say the worm has turned.
He would say that a lot.
I have no context to give that to you, because sometimes it would just be a random interjection.
Really?
But the worm has turned.
What do you say?
I’m imagining him saying, I’m laughing at my, because in my head he’s saying this in a dramatic moment where drama is not required.
He’s just like, the worm has turned.
You know, yep, yep, sometimes that would be exactly right.
But he was never off of his soapbox.
He’s that kind of fellow.
Okay.
But it’s a strange non sequitur.
It really is.
That’s a strange thing just to throw into conversation.
Yeah.
Did you talk with him about it at all?
No, no.
When he started, you just kind of sat and listened.
I see.
Yeah.
And it never occurred to me to ask about it until, as I said, this other show, people.
Were talking about funny things that relatives said.
And I thought, yeah, he said some weird stuff.
And I never knew what he was talking about.
That is pretty funny.
I’ve never heard of it being just thrown out at random intervals.
Well, it could have, like I said, he could have been ranting for a good time about a variety of things, and I just…
Yeah, tuned him out.
But that’s the way it’s stuck.
And then when you tuned it back in, he was saying…
The worm has turned.
The worm has turned.
We know a little bit about that, though, don’t we?
We do.
Yeah, the turn in this sense has to do with striking back if you’re attacked or harassed over a long period of time.
It goes back to a proverbial saying, even a worm will turn, meaning even the lowliest creature, if you bother it long enough, if you pester it long enough, it’s going to turn and fight back.
Turn on you, to turn on somebody.
Right, right, right, to turn on you, to turn against you.
And you’ll be pleased to know that your uncle’s expression goes all the way back to Shakespeare.
No, well, that’s fantastic.
Shakespeare where?
How about that?
In Henry VI, Part III, there’s a little passage where one of the characters is talking about how the smallest worm will turn being trodden on and doves will peck in safeguard of their brood.
So something small will get its revenge and something gentle as a dove will also fight back.
Wow.
That casts my uncle in a whole new life.
It does.
He’s been quoting Shakespeare all this time, and I didn’t realize it.
Pretty much, yeah.
You know, I might have to share that with him.
I think he might be surprised himself.
Well, cool.
I’ll let you guys know as soon as I catch up with him.
All right, thanks, Sarah.
I think you can find him on his soapbox.
Thank you, guys.
Thank you guys so much.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
We all have the talker in our lives.
We all do.
There’s somebody everywhere.
The guy, and it’s the repetition that bothers me.
It’s entertaining the first time.
And the second time, you’re like, oh, I think I’ve heard this before.
And the third time, you’re like, oh, my God.
Is this car locked?
I need to get out of here.
Is this car locked?
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In Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta “Princess Ida”, Lady Blanche sings about how she’ll get back at Ida, who she thinks has had the upper hand for too long: “She shall learn that the worm will turn.”
In the game “Team Fortress 2“ the soldier character has a cheer, “The worm has turned, gentlemen!”
According to Wikipedia, the documented origin for that phrase predates Shakespeare:
“The phrase was first recorded in a 1546 collection of proverbs by John Heywood, in the form ‘Treade a worme on the tayle, and it must turne agayne.’”
Who knew that a comically funny, multiplayer, first-person shooter game would be so erudite?