2
general::
Phrase(s): turn the clock back [and] turn back the clock
1. Lit. to set a clock to an earlier time. • I have to turn the clocks back each fall. • Please turn back the clock. 2. Fig. to try to return to the past. • You are not facing up to the future. You are trying to turn the clock back to a time when you were more comfortable. • Let us turn back the clock and pretend we are living at the turn of the century—the time that our story takes place.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs