What is the origin of the phrase "to turn on a dime"?

Question

What is the origin of the phrase "to turn on a dime"?

Answer 1

Someone was on a dime, and decided to turn.

I have no clue.

Answer 2

never heard of it... look it up on google though.

Answer 3

do you know or are you asking? cause if you're not asking then i dislike you. nah, good question, though, you got me.

Answer 4

shoot, I learned that watching the history channel.  that's about all the help i can be without typing this into google:

"history phrase turn dime"

Answer 5

.....sorry dont know. i tryed to look it up but all i got was the dictionary information. :(

Answer 6

1. The ability to change directions in an instant.

Country:  United States  

Turn on a dime. On a dime is used with a few other verbs, and it always refers to actions performed with ease and alacrity or taken after a period of indecision. The citations in Random House Dictionary of American Slang by J.E. Lighter leave no doubt about the idiom’s origin. As early as 1881 one could say that a well-trained horse turns on a five-cent piece. In the twenties of the 20th century, a fielder who failed to cover much ground was said to be playing on a dime, and dancers in a dancehall were encouraged to move off the dime, that is, not to stay glued to each other in one place. The phrase seems to owe its popularity to baseball. It alludes to the fact that the dime is the smallest-sized U.S. coin. This is why it is often applied to the movements of boats and small cars.

http://blog.oup.com/2007/08/gleanings-2/

Answer 7

meaning, its a hard desition,

a turn on a dime is unpredictable