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Example:

I love Montreal, but like every destination, there are things you should and shouldn't do when you visit. On a twist on the ever popular blog meme, here is my list of things to avoid doing at all costs when visiting Montreal.

I'm not sure how to understand that part.

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  • It means, "As a variation on..."
    – jamesqf
    Commented Apr 1, 2015 at 5:20

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I love Montreal, but like every destination, there are things you should and shouldn't do when you visit. (On) (a twist on) (the ever popular blog meme), here is my list of things to avoid doing at all costs when visiting Montreal.

A meme is

an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture

The writer is pointing out how everybody makes a cliched blog post along the lines of:

Top ten things to do in (some city)

Best places to eat in (some city)

Most beautiful sights in (some city)

and calling this a blog meme.

The phrase "A twist on" means a variation on. So if a friend introduces me to a new sport named "Gobbledygook", which is a modified version of Soccer, and I ask

What is Gobbledygook?

He would respond

It's a twist on Soccer.

So the writer is saying their list of things to not do in Montreal is a variation on the overused style of travel-related lists in blogging.

Also, the phrase should be

In a twist on

not on a twist on.

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  • Or "As a twist on ..."
    – user3169
    Commented Apr 1, 2015 at 6:33
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    Though I agree with it meaning "variation", I think it might be easier to understand this "twist" as "a new treatment" or "a new outlook" (or even "a new variation"). For example, according to your example, Gobbledygook and Soccer are variations of similar games, but I find myself feel more comfortable to say "Gobbledygook is a twist on Soccer" than "Soccer is a twist on Gobbledygook".
    – Damkerng T.
    Commented Apr 1, 2015 at 8:49
  • I didn't say soccer is a twist on gobbledygook.
    – DJMcMayhem
    Commented Apr 1, 2015 at 15:44
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I don't know about Canada, but in the US the phrase would be "in" a twist on...

In this context, a twist is a variation on an otherwise common thing. Metaphorically, the common, understood thing is being twisted--it is still recognizable, but it has been changed.

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