I'm editing a book, and the author wrote the following sentence (emphasis added):
If she walked straight past the next six stands, then turned the corner at her right, then turned again, and then passed a couple of houses (made of carved‐out rock), she’d reach her destination.
The writer intends to refer to literal movement, but I'm not sure if turned the corner is a valid way to reference physical movement. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, turn the corner means "to get past the most difficult area or period in something and begin to improve." I've looked in other dictionaries as well, including Dictionary.com, Collins Dictionary, and even Wiktionary, but none of them list the literal meaning.
Is there a definition of turn the corner that involves literal, physical movement as used when giving/receiving directions? If so, what does it mean?
Best Answer
Here, turn the corner literally refers to turning [a]round the corner. The verb turn means "to bend a course around or about: ROUND", so the preposition "[a]round" is redundant in "turn [a]round the corner". Hence, turn the corner is the more common form. Compare "pass the statue" (pass by the statue) or "ride a horse" (ride on a horse). So turn the corner doesn't necessarily only have to have a figurative meaning.
Further reading: Cognitive Space and Linguistic Case: Semantic and Syntactic Categories in English by Izchak M. Schlesinger (see the Deletion of prepositions section).