Literal translation
to turn back and turn again
Meaning
to do nothing, to dither
Explanation
The equivalent of "going round in circles": one says of someone putting off a decision that "he turns, he twists, and always waits", or to a bored child "haven't you finished turning and twisting, go play outside, you're getting on my nerves!". The expression plays on the redundancy of two synonyms, to turn and to twist, which also exist as synonyms in French, allowing its direct adoption. The underlying image is of going in circles rather than moving forward. Variants also exist: tourno, viro, s'embrounco, "he turns, twists, stumbles", or tourno, viro, si chaspo, "he turns, twists, dithers".