young Turk
idiom

- a progressive, revolutionary, or rebellious member of an organization, political party, etc, esp one agitating for radical reform

- any of a group of younger people seeking to take control of an organization, party, country, etc. from an entrenched, usually conservative, group of older people

- a member of an abortive reform movement in the Ottoman Empire, originally made up of exiles in W. Europe who advocated liberal reforms

Collins Dictionary / Webster’s New World College Dictionary

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PHRASE ORIGIN

In the early 20th century, a group known as the “Young Turks” sought to replace the Ottoman Empire's autocratic monarchy with a more representative form of government. They opposed Sultan Abdulhamid II and initiated a revolution in 1908, leading to the establishment of various political parties in the country.

The revolutionaries split into two main groups — one group wanted more freedom and the other wanted stronger central control. After much fighting and changes in power, Mustafa Kemal Pasha, known as “Atatürk”, started promoting the idea of a Turkish nation state, ultimately leading to the end of the Ottoman Empire.

Nowadays, we use the term "Young Turk" to signify an insurgent person trying to take control of a situation or organization by force or political manoeuvre.

Rod Stewart’s 1981 song, “Young Turks”, used this expression as a metaphor for teenage rebellion:

“Young hearts be free tonight, time is on your side
Don't let 'em put you down
Don't let 'em push you around
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view”

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SYNONYMS

agents of change, agitators, alphas, anarchists, avant-gardists, blazers, bohemians, brainiacs, breakthrough artists, bright young things, catalysts, challengers, crusaders, daredevils, disrupters, dissidents, firebrands, forefronters, forerunners, fresh blood, game changers, go-aheads, go-getters, groundbreakers, heretics, iconoclasts, innovators,  instigators, mavericks, movers and shakers, neoterics, new-age thinkers, new brooms, new kids on the block, nonconformists, pacesetters, paradigm shifters, pathfinders, pioneers, progressives, provocateurs,  radicals, rainmakers, rebels, reformers, renegades, revolutionaries, rising stars, rule breakers, spearheads, torchbearers, transformers, trailblazers, trendsetters, unconventionals, up-and-comers, upstarts, vanguard players, vanguardists, whippersnappers, whiz kids, whizzbangs, youngbloods, YOUNG TURKS, zealots

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation, say something like:

"The startup industry is full of YOUNG TURKS eager to revolutionize the tech landscape."

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