Literal translation
to turn back and turn again
Meaning
to do nothing, to dither
Explanation
This expression means to do nothing, to dither, to go round in circles without ever deciding or actually acting. It is built by doubling two verbs of close meaning, tourna, to turn back, and vira, to turn, to veer, a stylistic device that mimics through repetition itself the circular, fruitless movement it describes: that of a person who wanders back and forth with no clear aim, retraces their steps, changes their mind, without ever crossing the threshold into a decision or actual action. The image closely echoes tant que viro fai de tour in its mechanism, both Provençal phrases sharing the same verbal root vira and the same principle of redundancy to signify inaction disguised as activity. The register is familiar, used both to describe the chronic hesitation of an adult unable to decide and the aimless fidgeting of a bored child, as shown in the reported example of a child told to go play outside and leave off dithering pointlessly. The phrase resembles the French equivalent tourner en rond, with the Provençal difference of explicitly doubling two verbs of circular motion, building a spatial image reinforced through repetition.