so to speak — figuratively / not literally
expressionC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
Used to show that you are using words in a non-literal or imaginative way, or to signal that what you just said is a metaphor or not exactly true.
Say it like a native
Textbook If I may use the term in a non-literal sense, he jumped ship.
Native He jumped ship, so to speak.
'So to speak' is the natural tag for flagging a figure of speech; the spelled-out version is laborious.
Pattern: [statement], so to speak.
In use
- After a long day, I finally managed to get my head above water, so to speak.communication
- Many people feel that, in modern society, we are always 'on the go', so to speak, because technology keeps us connected all the time.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ He is, so to speak to say, the boss.
✓ He's the boss, so to speak.
It's a fixed phrase — don't expand it to 'so to speak to say'.
Common collocations
so to speak (fixed tag)— at the end, after a metaphor, if you like, as it were
Don't confuse it
Unlike 'in other words', which rephrases something more simply, 'so to speak' highlights figurative or playful language.