Turn of the Screw

Shoddy…

Henry: Snapped. Second time I used it.

James: Looks a dodgy bit of manufacturing. Plastic body, tin-pot metal screw. Where’s it made?

Henry: Package says Denmark. And it wasn’t cheap.

James: Could be a Chinese knockoff.

Henry: Joint venture. Even though there’s a European partner, caveat emptor obviously. And I couldn’t get a refund because I’d thrown away the receipt.

James: Turn of the screw?

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Voice-over

Meaning of a turn of the screw as a conversational close?

Perhaps James is referring to an action which becomes progressively worse… in this case, the buyer, Henry, was reassured by Scandinavian reference on the package, and a European price, but ended up buying a poor quality item, didn’t keep the documentation and had no power to get compensation for the deception.

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