William Watson Goodwin, Syntax of the Moods and Tenses of the Greek Verb

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[*] 777. 1. Most frequent are the simple ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν and ὡς εἰπεῖν, so to speak; and ὡς εἰπεῖν or εἰπεῖν with an adverb or other adjunct, sometimes with an object. E.g. Καὶ ἔργου, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, ἢ οὐδενὸς προσδέονται ἢ βραχέος πάνυ, and of action, so to speak, they need either none or very little. PLAT. Gorg. 450D. Plato uses ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν 77 times. Ὡς εἰπεῖν ἔπος, “so to speak.” AESCH. Pers. 714: so EUR. Hipp. 1162, EUR. Her. 167 (see EUR. Or. 1). Ὡς δὲ συντόμως εἰπεῖν, “to speak concisely.” ISOC. vii. 26: so PLAT. Tim. 25E. Ὡς συνελόντι εἰπεῖν. XEN. Mem. iii. 8, 10. Ὡς εἰπεῖν. PLAT. Phaedr. 258E : so PLAT. Rep. 619D. Ὡς ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, “to speak simply.” ISOC. iv. 154. Ὡς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ εἰπεῖν. Symp. 186C. Ὡς τὸ ὅλον εἰπεῖν γένος. Crat. 192C. Ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πᾶν εἰπεῖν. Leg. 667D. So ὡς περὶ ὅλης εἰπεῖν ψυχῆς, Rep. 577E. Ὥς γε τὸ δικαιότατον εἰπεῖν. Leg. 624A. Ὡς πόλιν εἰπεῖν, “speaking of a state.” Rep. 577C. Without ὡς: τὸ σύμπαν εἰπεῖν, HDT. ii. 91; THUC. i. 138, THUC. vii. 49. Ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς εἰπεῖν. Id. vi. 82. Σὺν θεῷ εἰπεῖν. PLAT. Prot. 317B. Τὸ δ᾽ ὀρθὸν εἰπεῖν, ἀνέπνευσα, SOPH. O.T. 1220.

2. Other verbs of saying are used in the same way with ὡς. E.g. Ὡς τορῶς φράσαι. AESCH. Ag. 1584. Ὡς ἐκ τοῦ παραχρῆμα λέγειν. PLAT. Crat. 399D. Ὥς γε ἐν τῷ νῦν παρόντι λέγειν. Leg. 857C. Ὡς ἓν φράζειν. Id. Polit. 282B Ὡς πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰρῆσθαι, i.e. between ourselves. Rep. 595B. Ὥς γε πρὸς σὲ εἰρῆσθαι τἀληθῆ. Prot. 339E. Ὡς ἐν τύπῳ, μὴ δἰ ἀκριβείας, εἰρῆσθαι. Rep. 414A.

For ὡς λόγῳ εἰπεῖν in Herodotus, see 782.