Word: Volte-face

The Word of the Day for Mar 08 is:
volte-face \vawlt-FAHSS\ noun

: a reversal in policy : about-face

Example sentence:
The provisional government's volte-face on holding special elections in June instead of October took everybody by surprise.

Did you know?

Today, English speakers can choose between "volte-face" and the more English-sounding "about-face," but that wasn't always the case. Although foot soldiers have been stepping smartly to the command "To the right about face! Forward march!" for centuries, "about-face" didn't appear as a figurative noun meaning "a reversal of attitude, behavior, or point of view" until the 20th century. On the other hand, we've been using the noun "volte-face" with this meaning since at least 1819. "Volte-face" came to us by way of French from Italian "voltafaccia" (from "voltare," Italian for "to turn," and "faccia," meaning "face").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence
My sentence:

I wonder if speakers in the U.K. are more likely to say "volte-face" than their American counterparts when referring to a reversal in policy or "about-face?"

Comments

[Vanessa]

Sorry, I was reading and repeating!

[Vanessa]

Volte face.

[Joe]

In America they would say that dirty rat! Later