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change the subject

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change the subject

to begin talking about something different. They changed the subject suddenly when the person whom they had been discussing entered the room. We'll change the subject if we are embarrassing you.

See also: change, subject

change the subject

Deliberately talk about another topic, as in If someone asks you an embarrassing question, just change the subject. This term uses subject in the sense of "a topic of conversation," a usage dating from the late 1500s.

See also: change, subject