Meme lore
What is the How The Turntables meme?
The 'How the Turntables' meme is a screencap from The Office showing Michael Scott, Pam, and Ryan in a negotiation with the subtitle 'Well, well, well, how the turntables...' Michael botches the idiom 'how the tables have turned' while trying to look smug about a power reversal.
Origin & history
The line appears in 'Broke' (Season 5, Episodes 25–26), which aired April 23, 2009. Michael Scott, Pam Beesly, and Ryan Howard sit across from Dunder Mifflin executives during negotiations over their struggling paper startup. Believing he holds leverage, Michael attempts the dramatic phrase 'how the tables have turned' but accidentally says 'how the turntables' instead.
The botched line and Ryan's smug posture made the screencap a lasting reaction image on Reddit, Twitter, and Tumblr. It is used whenever fortunes flip - underdogs gain leverage, critics become fans, or someone who was dismissed suddenly holds the upper hand.
The botched line and Ryan's smug posture made the screencap a lasting reaction image on Reddit, Twitter, and Tumblr. It is used whenever fortunes flip - underdogs gain leverage, critics become fans, or someone who was dismissed suddenly holds the upper hand.
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