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I would like to know the meaning of the expression "With a twist" and the context in which it can be used - examples are welcome.

I have an understanding of it in the lines of "Traveling with a twist" that I perceive as traveling with something special or somewhat different in a good way.

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    What answer might one provide here that isn't provided in a dictionary?
    – SrJoven
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 13:49
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    One relevant definition from OED: twist - an unexpected development of events, esp. in a work of fiction; a change from usual procedure. It's not necessarily a good thing - here are over 1800 written instances of "with a macabre twist".
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 13:59
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    It could also mean travelling with a small bit of citrus peel on your person.
    – bye
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 14:12
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    @bye — true, but that would still fit FumbleFingers' definition. I think. Discovering citrus peel on my body while travelling would qualify as an unexpected development of events for me. Usually.
    – oerkelens
    Commented Sep 2, 2014 at 14:20

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What is a twist?

If you twist something you turn something. For example twisting a piece of string.

So twist = turn.

Turn means not straight. Not straight forward.

Not straight forward means extraordinary.

Extraordinary can mean unexpected changes/challenges.

So with a twist means extraordinary.

Anything can be with a twist.

A bus ride with a twist. Tea with a twist. A night for two with a twist.

Apple Juice with a twist. --> Twist can in this case also mean spicing things up. By not being boring and straight forward.

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  • with a twist implies negative meaning, or it can positively be extraordinary?
    – Sus20200
    Commented Apr 16, 2019 at 15:33
  • Twist literally means surprise. And that can be either.
    – DisplayName
    Commented Apr 28, 2019 at 18:38
  • @DisplayName - any examples of negative "with a twist" usage?
    – The Chaz 2.0
    Commented Jul 18 at 16:55
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In your provided context of travel it means outside of or deviating from what one would expect.

Whether that be a good thing or not is not necessarily implied. You might decide to travel by elephant instead of on horse back, in the Western world that would certainly be considered "traveling with a twist", but there's no connotation to it apart from being unusual.

You'll often find expressions like this in magazines and reviews and used in an approbatory fashion. French cuisine, but with a twist, meaning at least to some degree it deviates from what you would expect.

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It's a method a describing something with an intentionally added major impurity.

For example you order a cocktail with a twist, you get a cocktail with some orange peel in it.

A twist is a piece of citrus zest used as a cocktail garnish

It's not just a cocktail it's a cocktail with a twist.

For example you write a story about a serial killer, but at the end it's revealed he's actually a loving father being blackmailed into committing the crimes.

It's not just a plot, it's a plot with a twist.

For example you turn your head quickly to the left. It's not just a neck, it's a neck with a twist, and likely later a kink.

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