Grammar fix
so to speak
figuratively / not literally
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.
expressionC1occasional
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- 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
Fix the pattern
Pattern: [statement], so to speak.
WrongHe is, so to speak to say, the boss.
RightHe's the boss, so to speak.
It's a fixed phrase — don't expand it to 'so to speak to say'.
Pattern[statement], so to speak.
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'So to speak' is the natural tag for flagging a figure of speech; the spelled-out version is laborious.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
so to speak (fixed tag)at the endafter a metaphorif you likeas it were
Don't confuse it
Unlike 'in other words', which rephrases something more simply, 'so to speak' highlights figurative or playful language.