"then she turned around and said..."

[1moledigging]

WHERE does this phrase come from and WHY does it wind me up so much?

I hear people use it a lot when recounting conversations - usually when there's been a degree of conflict.

"He turns around and says...."
"Then she turned around and goes..."
"Then I turn around and I'm like..."

Just, why...?

It puts this image in my head of people swivelling on their heels, throwing comments at each other just as they rotate round to face the other way again.

The "turn around" bit is totally redundant, right?

I think it's to imply the conversation turned around quickly.

But I'm not sure.

I'd be much more annoyed by the 'goes' and the 'like'.
The word is 'said'.

Yes, I find it annoying. I think it's meant to imply the next thing said was unexpected or outrageous - a 'turn' of viewpoint rather than a physical turn. But it's overused.

I have a friend who says 'do you know what I mean?' At the end of nearly every sentence. It drives me potty. D'ya know what I mean?

I once heard a CEO use 'goes' instead of 'said'. I was pleasurably shocked on a dull day.

Maybe they mean, "She turned it around and said..." ?

I worked with a young woman, who talked like this. There was an awful lot of turning around.

I think it's a bit of a filler (like "like", "innit", "know what I mean") and it does sound awful and inarticulate.

I worked with someone who used this phrase several times whilst retelling a conversation. It got so annoying I would always ask 'did you actually turn around?' or I would start singing 'turn around, every now and then I get a ..'

She thought I was joking.
It was to save me from punching her 🙈

It’s just a manner of speaking. It’s used all the time in Northern Ireland; I didn’t realise it wasn’t common elsewhere in the UK until I used it here and someone stopped me, asking why all these people were turning around all over the place

I've heard it used in various parts of the UK, Jaffa - I didn't think it was particularly a regional trait (that is, until you turned round and said it was from Northern Ireland )